About Us

Forty years across Wellington Free Ambulance and St John Ambulance holds many satisfying memories and experiences for Wairarapa Intensive Care Paramedic Hank.

Hank celebrates his 40 years on 1 May 2021 and says the reason he’s stuck around so long is simply because he enjoys what he does.

Hank originally trained as a motor mechanic but had a longing to help people in a different way. He explains that he had been first on scene at a couple of accidents which is what drove him to completing a first aid course – he then saw an advert for fulltime ambulance staff so applied and got the job, it was 1981

Hank worked his way through the appropriate training to eventually become a qualified paramedic.

“When I started the ambulance responses were largely acute trauma and some medical types of incidents but as advancements around vehicles and our medical equipment happen, the trauma has reduced while the acute medical emergencies has increased.

“Like all professions the ambulance service has certainly changed over the years. We have seen new skills and training increase resulting in much improved clinical guidelines that enable paramedics in the field to do a wider range of skills and treatments. The quality of the equipment has also improved over the years which helps in delivering those additional skills and treatments,” Hank says.

In more recent years, Hank explains that the ambulance service take on a much bigger role with treating patients at home or in their communities.

Hank has held numerous positions throughout his career.

After a few years of training, Hank was signed off as an Intensive Care Paramedic in 1989; in 1995, he went on to become the Manager for St John Nelson/Tasman until 2005 before moving back to Christchurch to be a trainer in the South Communications Centre.

In 2007, he took on the role of Regional Clinical Standards Manager and later moved into managing the team of 111 call takers in the South Communications Centre. It was during this role New Zealand responded to the Christchurch earthquakes. With damage to the centre they were working from, Hank had to lead the move of a team to Auckland so they could continue to respond to emergencies, operating out of the North Communication Centre.

For a number of months, Hank was managing both the South Communications Centre and also North Communication Centre until remedial works were completed on the Christchurch building.

Hank later left Christchurch and moved to Wairarapa after getting a job with the then DHB-run ambulance service before Wellington Free Ambulance took over in 2012.

Hank has been with Wellington Free Ambulance ever since. He has been a mentor and assessor of paramedics, taken on clinical head office-based secondments, and is a Relief Shift Manager for Wairarapa.

“After working in many departments and roles in the ambulance sector, the most satisfying element is working in an ambulance alongside my fellow colleagues treating patients in the community.”

Hank explains you can’t think of too much in hindsight.

“There has been a lot of progression in the sector over the 40 years, I have had an amazing career and don’t regret any of it.”