Our people

Tony joined ARHT in 2011 as one of the PHRM doctors. He is also an Intensive Care Medicine Specialist at Auckland City Hospital and is the Medical Director for St John Ambulance in New Zealand.

Tony has been with the PHRM team since it began and is very passionate about improving emergency care to people throughout New Zealand.

Married with two adult daughters, Tony is keen on cycling, fishing and gardening during the few periods he is not at work.

Vasya Makhinko joined Northern Rescue in 2017 and has been flying for 19 years.

He is mainly based at Ardmore but helps out in Whangārei as needed.

Vasya had previously completed medical evacuation missions, aerial photography, filming and anti-poaching work across the plains of Africa and in the sub-freezing temperatures of Canada’s Arctic Circle.

Vasya says his passion for the job is personal after being left in critical condition following a car accident as a teenager, where he required assistance from Hato Hone St John, FENZ, Police and Wellington LifeFlight.

Almost having his dream of becoming a pilot taken away gave him a sense of responsibility to do something similar for someone in need and contribute to the community.  

It drove his desire to desire to become a member of the Emergency Medical Services sector to help people, while working alongside a dedicated group of professionals at Northern Rescue.

William joined the Northern Rescue team as Medical Director in 2026. He is a Specialist Trauma Anaesthetist working at Auckland City Hospital and also employed as a registered Critical Care Paramedic for Hato Hone St John Ambulance service on the road in Auckland.

Originally from West Auckland, he spent time across the Tasman with Ambulance Victoria and the Alfred Trauma Service in Melbourne, before returning home in 2025.

When not in uniform or scrubs, William enjoys trail running, recreational flying, surfing, and is a Formula 1 motorsport fan.

Will became part of Northern Rescue in 2021 after a career working as a Critical Care Paramedic out of Auckland City’s Pitt Street Hato Hone St John ambulance station.

Will thrives on the teamwork at Northern Rescue and says he enjoys being part of small professional team where each crew member on a job has a unique set of skills to contribute to get the job done.

He feels privileged to work with such inspiring colleagues and says without each other and a team effort, the crews wouldn't be able to complete a mission.

Zac joined Northern Rescue April 2026, 18-months after becoming a Critical Care Paramedic.

Prior to this he worked as a Paramedic around Auckland, Queenstown, the Remarkables and Coronet Peak ski fields but had always hoped to work for Northern Rescue.

Zac enjoys the teamwork of collaborating with fellow first responders, road ambulance crews and inter-hospital transfer teams.  

He takes satisfaction by being able to help overcome the logistical and clinical challenges through delivering critical care in remote environments - places where getting that level of care to a patient is challenging.

Zac believes geography shouldn't determine the quality of care someone receives in their worst moment, with the rescue helicopter and crew providing the intervention to close that gap.