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Speaker 1: But joining me on the line right now. St. John

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Speaker 1: Ambulance Director of Ambulance Services, Andrew Thomas.

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Speaker 2: Good morning, Andrew, very good morning to Katie.

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Speaker 1: Mate. Busy busy weekend for you guys, by the look

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Speaker 1: of things, Friday, about five o'clock in the afternoon, a

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Speaker 1: two vehicle crash at the Stuart Highway there in Kuna Warra.

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Speaker 2: Yeah. Look, we've had over the weekend. We've had our

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Speaker 2: crews have just been absolutely flat out all weekend and

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Speaker 2: so firstly, I'd just like to acknowledge the great work

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Speaker 2: that our paramedics, our call takers and all those people

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Speaker 2: involved in the ambulance have done over the weekend because

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Speaker 2: it's been a really, really busy weekend. And as you said,

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Speaker 2: two car accidents on the Stuart Highway at Kuna Warra.

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Speaker 2: You know, in when our crews got there and assessed there,

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Speaker 2: there was a one month old female baby that was

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Speaker 2: I believe harried and restrained appropriately, but you know, assessed

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Speaker 2: and you know, taken through a hospital for precautions. And

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Speaker 2: I'm sure you know, we know that when you're a parent,

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Speaker 2: you'd be extremely worried about a new baby that's been

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Speaker 2: through a vehicle accident.

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Speaker 1: So yeah, looking after Honestly, you'd be beside yourself if

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Speaker 1: you were the parent of that that one month old.

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Speaker 1: So she's okay, that that baby girl.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, look, I think it was just more so just

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Speaker 2: a precaution and obviously we know that you know, you know,

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Speaker 2: babies being you know, in those capsules and all those things.

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Speaker 2: But you know, obviously just want to make sure that

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Speaker 2: there was nothing wrong. And I'm sure a lot of

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Speaker 2: times it's also too just around reassurance for the parents

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Speaker 2: as well, because you know, you want to make sure

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Speaker 2: that everything's good, particularly when you've got a young one.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, totally. Hey, on Saturday at three o'clock in the afternoon,

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Speaker 1: then a two year old helped themselves to dad's coffee

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Speaker 1: and it resulted in second degree burns.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, look, you know we talk around, you know, when

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Speaker 2: you're a parent and all those sort of things and

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Speaker 2: what you're worried about and all those sort of things.

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Speaker 2: You know, obviously, just you know, terrible situation here, you know,

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Speaker 2: sort of having that sort of two old reach up

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Speaker 2: and grab a cup and then you know, the cup

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Speaker 2: with some hot water's fallen over and gone across their

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Speaker 2: sort of face and Torso and an area, and you know,

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Speaker 2: our crews got there and obviously the parents did an

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Speaker 2: amazing job with getting that child under cold running water

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Speaker 2: early on, and you know, removing the clothing and particularly

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Speaker 2: for young kids, making sure they actually take the nappy

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Speaker 2: off that because sometimes that hot liquid can actually sit

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Speaker 2: in the nappy and then continue to burn. So they

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Speaker 2: did a really really good job. But yeah, unfortunately child

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Speaker 2: there did have some serious burns and was taken through

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Speaker 2: to the hospital and in a stable condition. And I'm

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Speaker 2: sure that they're doing that, but it is a reminder

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Speaker 2: that you know, when you do have kids and they

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Speaker 2: move from that you know, laying still stage, to the

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Speaker 2: crawling stage, to the standing up and reaching stage, that

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Speaker 2: you know, we need to try and make sure that

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Speaker 2: we've got those sort of things that are out of

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Speaker 2: the way, so pot handles and cups with coffee and

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Speaker 2: all those sort of things that can lead to something

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Speaker 2: happening to our kids.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, oh gee, I feel for the parents and for

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Speaker 1: the little bubb because things like that just happened so

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Speaker 1: incredibly quickly, and you know, when they're at that age,

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Speaker 1: when they're two year olds, they are just into everything.

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Speaker 1: You've got to have eyes in the back of your head.

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Speaker 2: Yeah. Absolutely, we know as I said that that's the

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Speaker 2: age where they're exploring and they're trying to reach and

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Speaker 2: grab and they want to grab everything and whatever else.

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Speaker 2: And unfortunately, as I said, we just you just have

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Speaker 2: to try and as they grow older, you lift things

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Speaker 2: higher and higher. So you know, it's unfortunate. But as

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Speaker 2: I said, the parents did an amazing job in terms

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Speaker 2: of you know, staying calm and getting that first adid

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Speaker 2: advice from the Triple zero call takers and then you know,

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Speaker 2: and then you know, going through with our cruise hospital all.

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Speaker 1: I hope they're all okay now. On Sunday, three single

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Speaker 1: vehicle rollovers, all separate, kicking off at six o'clock in

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Speaker 1: the morning.

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Speaker 2: Yeah. So yeah, on Sunday, three single vehicle rollovers, the

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Speaker 2: first one in Ala and so we had a male

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Speaker 2: patient there required extrication from the vehicle that rolled up

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Speaker 2: over and you know, our cruise they were supported by

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Speaker 2: the fieries and the police's a really good job with

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Speaker 2: all of the services working together get the person out

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Speaker 2: of that vehicle and they are transported with relatively minor

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Speaker 2: injuries through to the hospital and so obviously for treatment there,

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Speaker 2: but I'm sure they'll make a good recovery. And then

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Speaker 2: later in the evening we had, you know, at six

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Speaker 2: point thirty and Catherine, we had a gentleman in their

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Speaker 2: sixties that was rear ended and that caused the vehicle

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Speaker 2: to flip over, And followed by another one in Nightcliff

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Speaker 2: where we had a twelve year old team and a

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Speaker 2: mother involved in the in the vehicle that flipped over

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Speaker 2: and again fortunately relatively minor injuries and so they were

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Speaker 2: taken through the hospital for further treatment and assessment. So

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Speaker 2: lots of sort of rollover and vehicle actions on the weekend,

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Speaker 2: and you know, we just continue to push the message

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Speaker 2: about you know, staying alert and stuff attentive when you're driving.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, well, and glad to hear that they are okay.

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Speaker 1: But we know, you know, we know that the issues

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Speaker 1: that we face on our roads and the volume of

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Speaker 1: crashes that we see, the volume of terrible fatalities that

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Speaker 1: we've experienced, it's been horrendous. And as I understand it,

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Speaker 1: Saint John are actually going to be conducting a motorcycle

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Speaker 1: first Aid course because we know that twenty twenty four

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Speaker 1: was the worst NT road toll in ten years and

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Speaker 1: motorcyclists actually made up ten percent.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, that's correct, and we know that we've talked about

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Speaker 2: it before. You know, you know, when you're in a

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Speaker 2: vehicle that the safety measures they put into vehicles now

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Speaker 2: with their bags and seatbelt retentions and all those sort

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Speaker 2: of crash of orders things are really great. But unfortunately,

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Speaker 2: when you're on a motorcycle, you know, you don't have

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Speaker 2: that shell of protection around you, and so when you

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Speaker 2: do come off your motorbike, obviously sometimes those injuries that

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Speaker 2: you can sustain, you know, either through you know, not

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Speaker 2: having the right gear on or hitting something and what

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Speaker 2: else can be you know, end up with quite serious injury.

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Speaker 2: So St John's, you know, wanting to sort of try

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Speaker 2: and start a motorcycle first Aid course and so it

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Speaker 2: is really about help people feel safer both for themselves

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Speaker 2: and their loved ones, and it's really just some skills

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Speaker 2: to how they can assist after an accident. So the

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Speaker 2: first yeah, so the first course is running this Saturday

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Speaker 2: on the eighth of March at Palmerston. So people can

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Speaker 2: go through our website at www. Dots and john nt

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Speaker 2: dot org dot au or call the first Aid Training

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Speaker 2: team and you know they can register that course, and

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Speaker 2: you know we're trying to look at how we can

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Speaker 2: deliver that first day because we know that when something happens,

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Speaker 2: whether it be in the home, whether it be on

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Speaker 2: the road or in the workplace, you know that ability

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Speaker 2: to have some first aid knowledge and really really impacts

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Speaker 2: on the outcome of somebody at the end.

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Speaker 1: Well, I always appreciate your time. The Saint John Ambulance

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Speaker 1: Director of Ambulance Services, Andrew Thomas. Sorry, mate, I was

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Speaker 1: having a quiet cough while you were talking and then

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Speaker 1: I and then obviously jump back on the microphone. I

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Speaker 1: really appreciate your time this morning.

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Speaker 2: No problem, Katie, all right. I hope you're feeling better.

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Speaker 2: Thank you,