The St John Whanganui Ambulance Station at 25 Tawa Street in Gonville is part of Hato Hone St John, a registered charity that runs ambulance services, first aid training, event medical cover and community programmes across New Zealand. The charity also sells first aid kits and defibrillators, and offers medical alarms. Its training includes Mental Health First Aid courses and a refresher course for people who completed one in the last two years, as well as resuscitation courses for health professionals, which are available online and in person. Its Te Whai Aroha e-learning course is about well-being. The Waka Ora Health Shuttle takes people to health appointments and back home, and is run by volunteers on a koha, or donation, basis.
We hear that demand on the emergency ambulance service has been historically high, with several weeks of high 111-call volumes, and that a major incident response remains in place. The charity says help is still available, but wait times may be longer. Hato Hone St John relies on donations to support its frontline crews, and the charity's website offers a way to make one. For anyone in Gonville or Whanganui who needs first aid training, first aid supplies or an event medical service, the station is the local base for that work.