St John has released emergency workload statistics for 2019 confirming the number of emergency ambulance responses continues to climb.
Every year the demand for ambulance services increases by approximately 4% and in 2019 St John responded to over 440,000 incidents, almost 18,000 more than in 2018.
St John Operations Director Norma Lane says the top five reasons an ambulance was called were referrals by GPs, falls, breathing problems, chest pain and people unconscious or passing out.
“While this is consistent with previous years, there are some notable trends coming through.
Calls for mental health related incidents increased by 10% in 2019, a statistic consistent with current trends globally and nationally.