'Rotoruined' paramedic jumps at job

Leisa Tocknell is the new station manager at Rotorua St John.

It's usually the lure of sun and surf that takes Rotorua residents to Australia to live.

But it was the city's mountain biking scene that lured Brisbane paramedic Leisa Tocknell across the ditch to fill the long vacant St John Rotorua station manager's position.

Mrs Tocknell and her husband Matt visited Rotorua three years ago on a week's mountain biking holiday. She said they went home "Rotoruined".

"One week was enough to snag us," she said.

"We fell in love with the place and we couldn't get it out of our head.

"An opportunity arose and we took it. All our ducks lined up, so to speak.

"To pack up an 18-year career to move to Rotorua, only for mountain biking, shows how special the forest is."

Mr Tocknell is a retail manager in Rotorua.

Mrs Tocknell worked as a paramedic for Queensland Ambulance and originally joined St John Rotorua as a volunteer. When she learned of the vacancy, she jumped at the chance to continue working in that field. The position had been vacant for two years.

"There are a few differences between Queensland Ambulance and St John but also some similarities.

"The ethos of a paramedic doesn't seem to change, how patients should be treated is the same. But Queensland Ambulance is Government funded and St John is a charity."

"It's important for the station to get a station manager," said St John Lakes area territorial manager Hilary Morrish Allen.

"We've had some major changes over the past 18 months, in terms of new vehicles and staff, and the organisation is going in a new direction.

"We need someone at the station as a leader to be a key player in that change. It's really important for patient care."