Tony Smith
Deputy Clinical Director for Hato Hone St John in New Zealand
Tony Smith is one of the Deputy Clinical Directors for Hato Hone St John. He is also an Intensive Care Medicine Specialist at Auckland City Hospital and a Prehospital and Retrieval Medicine Doctor with the Air Ambulance Service in Auckland. He has worked in the ambulance sector for over 25 years and has been actively involved in all of the major incidents occurring in New Zealand during that time.
Chris Harrison
Chris Harrison, National Operations Manager – Hazardous Area Response, Hato Hone St John
Chris has worked in the ambulance sector across New Zealand for more than 15 years. Chris is a critical care paramedic with experience in ambulances, rapid response vehicles and rescue helicopters in remote, rural, and metropolitan areas. Chris was involved in the establishment and implementation of the clinical governance for the South Island’s helicopter air ambulance service for HEMS New Zealand. Chris is a member of the Specialist Emergency Response Team (SERT), Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT) and Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) teams, which he now leads as the Hazardous Area Response manager for Hato Hone St John
Presentation Title and Overview: Learnings and leadership through a major crisis
An intensive care specialist with a long-standing career with Hato Hone St John spanning more than 25 years, Tony will share his extensive knowledge of how ambulance services prepare for emergency management situations, how they respond in a crisis, and learnings taken forward to improve response for the future. Tony will specifically share his experiences of playing a key leadership role in major incidents such as the Christchurch Mosque attack and the White Island volcanic eruption in New Zealand.
Tony will be joined by Chris Harrison, Emergency Capability Manager – Hazardous Area Response for Hato Hone St John, who will share his extensive operational knowledge of these major incidents.