About Us

Shortly before the 7am shift began, Dave and the crew he would be joining for the next 12 hours were called to a red call, an elderly woman had woken unresponsive and her husband of 50 plus years had called 111.

Following a lights and sirens dash through the winding streets of Brooklyn they arrived to provide medical attention for the woman, and to support her family who were naturally very worried for their loved one. The crew stabilised the woman and transported her to hospital, almost immediately they were called to respond to a code purple, the most serious of calls. A man had gone into cardiac arrest roadside and needed urgent assistance.

His experience as a military fireman during more than 10 years of service in the Air Force and Army meant Dave was not unfamiliar with the range of emergencies that can occur. As the crew assessed the patient Dave was asked to immediately begin chest compressions. In that moment he was struck by the reality of the situation. They were roadside, with Wellington rush hour traffic whizzing by,  and the man’s son watching, was clearly very distressed as to what was happening to his father.

“I remember feeling the warmth of his body through the medical gloves and understanding the realness of what was happening to this man, his son and how much they needed our help,” recalls Dave.

During the more than forty minutes the crew, who now included Fire and Police for scene control and a second Wellington Free Ambulance, worked on the collapsed man, Dave stood with the man’s son trying to offer what support he could. He remembers how impressed he was with the efforts of the crew to keep the son informed about what was happening, and eventually the reality that unfortunately, despite all efforts his father was not going to be revived.

“I was struck by the maturity of this young crew member, as well as playing her role on the scene she also knew the man’s son needed to understand what was being done. She delivered the information with clarity and empathy, it was professional but also very caring,” explains Dave.

This moment solidified for Dave his responsibility as the Chief Executive for the ambulance service for Greater Wellington and Wairarapa, to act as a guardian for frontline staff and the wider support team who all contribute to the organisation.

“Everyone should be proud of what we do on a daily basis to support the community when they need us. The unifying factor of responding to an emergency is supporting people at their most vulnerable. Everyone in all the various roles contributes to that, including our wider supporters in the community, our donors and volunteers. Everyone has a hand in making the community a safer place,” Dave says.

Dave brings a wealth of leadership experience in a range of sectors, military, public sector, arts and culture and most recently through his work with a mental health and addictions NGO.

He describes his move into a health based organisation as “intentional” meaning he wanted to find a role that contributed to the wellbeing of the community.

“There is respect and mana that comes with the Wellington Free Ambulance name. There is huge goodwill amongst our community, but equally an expectation that we should be held accountable for,” said Dave.

His goal is to create a balanced and constructive environment for the team, that in turn will ensure the delivery of top quality services to patients.

“At the end of the day I will measure my success in this role on the impact on patients and also the success of others,” concludes Dave.