International Nurses Day: Healthline Nurses Help 800 New Zealanders A Day - From Homes Just Like Yours

This International Nurses Day (12 May), Whakarongorau is doing a shout-out to the Healthline nurses who care for people across Aotearoa every day - unseen, from home, and maybe from just down the road.

Every day, Healthline nurses help around 800 people across Aotearoa, working through their worries, symptoms and uncertainty. Often - 85% of the time - they help callers stay safely at home, avoiding unnecessary trips to emergency departments and in ambulances, when reassurance or clear advice is all that’s needed.

They do that 24/7 and it costs the callers nothing. And 98% of callers follow that advice!

Over 100 Healthline nurses work from their home offices in communities right across Aotearoa, caring for people they never see face-to-face, yet treating every caller with empathy, professionalism, and respect.

"International Nurses Day is about recognising the skill, resilience, and compassion of nurses everywhere," says Whakarongorau Chief Operating Officer Brian O’Connell.

"There really could be a Healthline nurse working from their home, on your street," says O’Connell.

"They don’t wear scrubs to the supermarket, but every day and night, they take care of Aotearoa."

People using Whakarongorau telehealth services report consistently high satisfaction (averaging close to 90% - well above international healthcare benchmarks), with many saying a nurse’s advice changed - or even saved - their life.

O’Connell says Healthline nurses manage complex clinical situations over the phone, every day.

"They listen, assess risk, and help people make the right decision - all without seeing the person they’re caring for."

"You might never see them, but their impact on your life - or someone you love - can be profound. At 2am, when a child’s fever spikes. When chest pain comes out of nowhere. When something doesn’t look right and you don’t know whether to call 111 or wait it out."

So today, if you pass someone walking the dog, heading to the shops, or dropping kids at school, they just might be one of the nurses who yesterday reassured a worried parent, or guided someone through the scariest moment of their life.

You just never see them in uniform.

Notes:

• Healthline is a free, 24/7, nurse- and paramedic-led health advice service available to everyone in New Zealand.
• Healthline can be reached on 0800 611 116, for free, 24/7.
• Whakarongorau Aotearoa is New Zealand’s national telehealth provider, delivering services including Healthline, mental health support, emergency triage, and family violence and sexual harm telehealth helpline services.

Healthline:

• Over 370,000 contacts last year
• Supporting around 800 people a day
• Keeping 85% safe at home or directing them to community care instead of emergency departments
• 98% of callers follow Healthline advice
• ~90% satisfaction rating

Whakarongorau nurses:

• Also work in the Emergency Triage Service with Hato Hone St John and Wellington Free Ambulance, supporting around 100 people each day with non-urgent 111 calls
• And mental health nurses in the Earlier Mental Health Team who support over 5,000 people each year who call Police and ambulance services but who need a health response rather than a justice response, and nearly 35,000 people who call district mental health services after-hours.

www.whakarongorau.nz

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