St John calls in Whanganui district for mental health and suicide up 67 per cent in 2021

Referrals from health practitioners made up 12 per cent of call outs in 2021. Photo / Bevan Conley

Ambulance callouts for mental health issues and suicide attempts in Whanganui increased by 67 per cent last year, according to recent St John figures.

There was an overall increase in calls for help to St John in the Whanganui district last year, compared to 2020.

In total, St John received 9,561 calls in Whanganui in 2021, up by 7.9 per cent (8,861 calls for help in 2020).

Statistics were released by the service last week, which reflected the number of emergency ambulance service incidents received, not the number of patients.

One of the biggest jumps came in callouts for mental health/suicide attempts, which went from 141 in 2020 to 235 in 2021, an increase of 67 per cent.

There were 8,273 incidents with an emergency vehicle response in 2021, up 7.7 per cent from 2020 (7,678 incidents).

Traumatic injury callouts were up by 18 per cent, from 311 to 368.

Referrals from health practitioners accounted for 12 per cent of all callouts in 2021, with 1104.

There were 1098 in 2020.

Other notable increases, year to year, came in burns/explosions (52 per cent), allergies/medical reactions/rash/stings (62 per cent) and diabetic problems (45 per cent).

There were five callouts for industrial/machinery accidents in 2021, compared with one in 2020.

Eye problems/injuries dropped by 69 per cent and animal bites/attacks were down by 11 per cent.