COASTN 2025 - Synergy in motion

Dr Alex Psirides

Co-Director, Wellington ICU & Medical Director, Aeromedical Retrieval Service

Alex is co-director of Wellington ICU and medical director of the Aeromedical Retrieval Service. He trained in London, Australia and New Zealand.

He led the New Zealand Health Quality & Safety Commission’s Deteriorating Patient programme, implementing the New Zealand Early Warning Score, Korero Mai, and Shared Goals of Care. More recently he chaired the national Critical Care Expansion group which oversaw a spend of half-a-billion dollars to increase national critical care capacity by 30%.

His career highlight remains providing intensive care to a chimpanzee in Wellington Zoo. He lives in Wellington with two teenage daughters and an ageing Labrador.

Di Fuller

Nurse Specialist, Transport, Starship PICU, Auckland

Di Fuller has been a dedicated leader in New Zealand’s flight nursing community for over two decades. A long-serving member of both NZFNA and COASTN, she helped shape the profession through education, advocacy, and hands-on leadership.

In 2011, Di took over coordination of the National Flight Nurse Training Course, transforming it into the practical, clinically relevant program it is today and forging key partnerships like the one with AUT. She led the course for eight years and contributed to the development of key resources such as the COASTN Passport.

Di is currently the Flight Co-ordinator for the Starship PICU transport team. She manages logistics, education, and clinical work across road and air. With unmatched expertise and a deep commitment to the field, Di continues to influence and inspire the next generation of flight nurses across Aotearoa.

World Wide Mosaic

Munisha Singh – CNS Paediatric Respiratory, Dunedin  
Kym Makanesi – HCA, Children’s, Dunedin
Zarghona Lafraie – RN, NICU, Dunedin

Cultural competence is vital in today’s diverse society. It means respecting cultural differences, understanding unique perspectives, and adapting to meet the needs of all communities. By 2043, more than one in four people in Aotearoa New Zealand will be migrants from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds.

Representing World Wide Mosaic, a Dunedin-based initiative, the speakers draw on lived experience and robust research to promote cultural competence across sectors. World Wide Mosaic is known for delivering engaging, practical insights that help professionals navigate cultural diversity with confidence and care.

This session will inspire meaningful reflection and offer tools to support more inclusive and culturally responsive practice.

Dr Matt Read

Anaesthesiologist, Critical Care Specialist, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota

Dr. Matt Read is an Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine. As a Lieutenant Colonel and Flight Surgeon in the United States Air Force, he has served in multiple combat and humanitarian missions worldwide.

Dr. Read is a nationally and internationally recognized educator in extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, having developed and led high-fidelity ECMO training programs, including live-tissue simulation for the Department of Defense and Mayo Clinic. His research and leadership have advanced ECMO initiation and transport, bringing critical life-saving technology from the operating room to austere and far-forward environments.

John Lambeth

Paramedic, St John, Te Anau

With nearly three decades of service at St John and 19 years in aeromedical retrieval, John Lambeth brings a wealth of frontline experience to the skies. Based in Te Anau, he’s worked as a registered Paramedic for 17 years, combining clinical expertise with the kind of practical, no-nonsense mindset that comes from a lifetime on the land.

John and his wife Linda spent over 30 years farming while raising their three children - now grown - with five grandchildren keeping them on their toes. His rural upbringing has shaped his “make it work” approach, ideal for the often unpredictable world of pre-hospital and aeromedicine.

Calm under pressure and known for his steady presence, John thrives in high-stakes environments where quick thinking and adaptability are key. Whether it’s in the back of a helicopter or on the side of a remote roadside, he finds meaning in the challenges and rewards of emergency care.

When he's not working, you'll likely find him outdoors – hunting, fishing, or tinkering in the shed. With family now living in Australia, John’s doing more travelling these days but he always finds his way home to the deep south.

More speakers

Andrea Johnstone – Senior Mission Coordinator, New Zealand Air Ambulance Service

Andy Gibbs – Registered Nurse, Wellington Aeromedical Retrieval Service

Charmaine Le Roux, RN, Christchurch – University of Otago

Dave Anderson – Critical Care Paramedic, Otago Rescue Helicopters

Dean Brown – Critical Care Paramedic and Co-Founder of Triage-Plus

Dr Joe Conway – Registrar, Wellington ICU and Aeromedical Retrieval Service

Jon Gaupset – Team Leader, Aeromedical Commissioning Programme

Karen Ferriccioli – Registered Midwife, Southern

Toni Johnson – Nurse Practitioner, Dunedin ICU