While family and friends gather to celebrate the festive holidays, the green angels ‘St John Ambulance’ are preparing and is anticipating a surge in emergency calls over the festive season. Additional emergency ambulance crews will be rostered on duty to ensure the service can meet demand and get care to people in need. SJA’s Commissioner, Matt Cannon said that during the festive season there is always an unpredictable rise in calls for help. “Unfortunately, many of these incidents are the tragic outcomes of violence and trauma related to excessive alcohol consumption." To effectively manage the anticipated increase in demand, the ambulance service will deploy extra ambulance crews from Friday 22nd December until Christmas Day, as well as on the New Year’s Eve. These crews will be rostered for 12 hour shifts between 11:00 AM – 11:30 PM and will be a boost to regular ambulance crewing. "In both Lae and Kokopo, we will have one or two extra ambulance crews on duty depending on the need." "In the National Capital District (NCD) and Central Province, we'll bolster our response with three extra crews." This enhancement means a total of 17 emergency ambulance crews will be on duty during these peak periods. These crews are further supported by emergency medical rapid response units and SJA doctors and paramedics. Adding more ambulance crews during the holidays is expensive, but it's important so we can help everyone who needs it. It's not just about monetary costs, though. "We also have to think about things like extra radios, pagers, emergency kits, and defibrillators." "Plus, we need to make sure we have enough medicines, medical supplies, and oxygen cylinders ready to go." “Thankfully, we've got a growing group of volunteer first responders in each province who are trained to support the ambulance service and can help with emergency responses during peak periods like this.” Cannon also expressed gratitude towards the broader community for their ongoing support. "Our priority is always the safety of citizens and our ambulance team." "On behalf of the ambulance service, we thank residents for taking care of our ambulance officers throughout the year." "Despite some serious incidents affecting their safety and security, the support from communities in Lae, Kokopo, Bereina, Kuriva, Kwikila, Kupiano, Port Moresby, and Gulf has been great." Looking ahead, the ambulance service is excited to commence emergency ambulance operations in Gulf, Eastern Highlands, and Western Highlands provinces in 2024, and be working as service partners of the respective provincial health authorities. "We are committed to providing the best possible emergency medical services to our communities," said Cannon. "We urge everyone to celebrate responsibly and wish everyone a safe and joyous festive season."