For the Chatham Islands Health Centre, being contactable at all times is the linchpin of patient safety.
The Health Centre is a Primary Response in Medical Emergencies (PRIME) responder which means staff have had specialist training to be able to support Hato Hone St John (HHSJ) Ambulance crews with next level care for trauma and medical emergencies.
With a population of around 650 people spread across a remote island 800 kilometres from mainland New Zealand,
That’s why the introduction of Next Generation Critical Communication Public Safety Network’s (PSN) Cellular Roaming service in 2023 has been a game-changer.
Chatham Islands Health Centre Clinical Manager Sally Lanauze says the new service, which enables emergency responders with mobile phones on the PSN network to switch between Spark and One NZ cellular networks, has transformed how her team can support patients.
“We’re on call 24/7 and previously we’d have to remain at home so we could answer calls for help on our long-distance portable phone,” Sally says.
“Now, I can move around the island with my phone in my pocket and still respond instantly if I’m needed. We were able to facetime with them (HHSJ) so they could see exactly what we were dealing with. That wouldn’t have been possible a few years ago.”
This immediacy of support has lifted the standard of care.
“Technology now lets us bring specialist eyes into the room, even though we’re hours away from a major hospital. That’s been huge for patient outcomes.”
The benefits go beyond critical care. The team uses the PRIME app, Messenger, and other tools to coordinate responses, share images, and keep communication flowing when decisions need to be made fast.
“We’ve had situations where Messenger was the only working communication method during an outage. It (Cellular Roaming) kept us connected when we needed it most.”
The enhanced connectivity may have led to improvements for emergency responders, but the core impact remains clear.
“This is about patient safety,” Sally says.
“People on the Chathams deserve the same level of emergency support as anyone on the mainland. Cellular Roaming helps us deliver that. It’s made a real, practical difference to how we care for our community.”