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Speaker 1: Joining me live on the line from Saint John Ambulance,

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Speaker 1: the Director of Ambulance Services, Andrew Thomas. Good morning to you, Andy.

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Speaker 2: And a very good morning to ukd Mate.

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Speaker 1: How did things go over the weekend for you guys

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Speaker 1: with the cyclone?

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Speaker 2: Look what a hectic weekend it was for everybody really Yeah.

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Speaker 2: So look, you know, obviously for our staff and our volunteers,

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Speaker 2: they work exceptionally through the whole weekend in the various

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Speaker 2: conditions and really you know, showed the diligence and professionalism

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Speaker 2: that we would expect from them. We had our volunteers

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Speaker 2: working at cyclone shelters. There was seven shelters open up

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Speaker 2: across the Darwin region and we had fifteen volunteers that

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Speaker 2: completed up to eight in our shifts in those locations

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Speaker 2: providing first aid services. And you know, there was over

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Speaker 2: two hundred and seventy community members across the seven shelters

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Speaker 2: and those volunteers treated eighty seven people and then with

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Speaker 2: four of them requiring to go to hospital throughout the time.

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Speaker 2: So obviously some good take up of the shelters across

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Speaker 2: Darwin from those particularly those people that needed to go,

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Speaker 2: and some great work done by the volunteers there and.

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Speaker 1: We'll talk me through some of the incidents. Then at

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Speaker 1: those shelters by the look of the Dripstone Middle School,

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Speaker 1: at that shelter, a thirty eight year old female with

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Speaker 1: chest pain.

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Speaker 2: Yeah. So yeah, obviously we had a couple of incidents

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Speaker 2: where obviously people that have come to those shelters there

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Speaker 2: and needed various treatments and stuff. So we had a

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Speaker 2: couple there, one at the Dripstone Middle School where person

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Speaker 2: had chess pain and they were taken through the Darwin

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Speaker 2: Hospital when we were able to facilitate it. And then

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Speaker 2: another one out at the Palmerston Senior College at the

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Speaker 2: shelter there and we had a forty one year old

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Speaker 2: female with with chest pain and they were cared and

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Speaker 2: then take they and then made their way to the hospital.

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Speaker 2: As I said, volunteers great, did a great job. And

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Speaker 2: then I have to say it also, you know, throughout

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Speaker 2: the conditions, you know, our road crews and particularly the

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Speaker 2: staff in our communications center did an amazing job. We

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Speaker 2: did see quite a large volume of phone calls over

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Speaker 2: the weekend, particularly across during that time when the weather

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Speaker 2: was at its worst. And you know, I will say

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Speaker 2: at one point they're obviously just through the nature of

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Speaker 2: the weather and the conditions, we did restrict our responses

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Speaker 2: in effect to only those life critical emergencies. And I

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Speaker 2: do want to think particularly the members of the public

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Speaker 2: that had called through and what else. And while our

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Speaker 2: comms teams did an amazing job of ringing back and

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Speaker 2: following up with a number of people, I think most

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Speaker 2: people understood that we weren't able to get there for

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Speaker 2: some period of time, particularly through late that day, afternoon,

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Speaker 2: evening and then until up about midnight.

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Speaker 1: Definitely would have been a tough night, no doubt about that. Andy.

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Speaker 1: We're a bit pressed for time this morning. I do

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Speaker 1: just want to ask you quickly. I know, yesterday as

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Speaker 1: well at Howard Springs a two vehicle t bone collision,

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Speaker 1: one patient transported a bit disappointing after what would have

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Speaker 1: been an incredibly busy night on Saturday and day. Was

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Speaker 1: it any idea, I mean, was it people sort of

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Speaker 1: going out rubbernecking throughout the cyclone?

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Speaker 2: Look? I don't think so. Not quite sure exactly that

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Speaker 2: the circumstances around the crash, but you know, all in all,

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Speaker 2: I think you know, most people are over the weekend

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Speaker 2: despite the difficult and the weather, you know, obviously it

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Speaker 2: did you know obviously that we you know, we did

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Speaker 2: have very few vehicle actions over the weekend, so I

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Speaker 2: do think most people followed the advice, which is the

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Speaker 2: stay off the roads. Yeah. And the other case, yeah,

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Speaker 2: on the other case of significant that we had on

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Speaker 2: Saturday night, in the middle of all of the worst

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Speaker 2: wed her in around the late evening in montre Else's,

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Speaker 2: we did have a nineteen year old lady who went

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Speaker 2: into labor and so that was one of the bit

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Speaker 2: one of the jobs that we were able to respond

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Speaker 2: to at the time. So there so we transported transported

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Speaker 2: to the Royal Darwin uh and we didn't obviously managed

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Speaker 2: to get her to the Darwin Hospital in time, so

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Speaker 2: I know there was lots of you know, discussions around

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Speaker 2: you know, what the name of the baby was going

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Speaker 2: to be in the mix. Yeah, So but you know,

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Speaker 2: obviously we're glad that that lady there obviously was able

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Speaker 2: to get us through the hospital. And we haven't ever

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Speaker 2: had a chance to followup whether she had her baby

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Speaker 2: or not, but you know, we wish her all the best.

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Speaker 1: Bloody hell, what a what a night if you were

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Speaker 1: if you went into labor during the cyclone. That poor

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Speaker 1: little mum.

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Speaker 2: But I really.

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Speaker 1: Hope it all went well for her and love to

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Speaker 1: hear that baby's name once we find out how it

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Speaker 1: all went. But we were waiting here she might not

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Speaker 1: want to reveal. Yeah, Andrew, Yeah, it sounds like a

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Speaker 1: bloody busy weekend, mate. We're gonna have to catch up

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Speaker 1: another day about the Excellence Awards that were held last

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Speaker 1: week as well. We're just a bit under the pump

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Speaker 1: this morning, but thank you as always for your time

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Speaker 1: and we might talk to you or somebody else a

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Speaker 1: little later in the week about that you too, mate.

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Speaker 1: Thank you