St John Ambulance New South Wales (St John NSW) is a
charitable organisation dedicated to helping people in sickness, distress, suffering or danger. It provides first aid training and event and community health care services. It is part of an international organisation that consists of eight Priories that form the
Order of St John. The organisation is sometimes incorrectly referred to "St John's Ambulance" or "St Johns Ambulance" instead of "St John Ambulance".
History of St John Ambulance
In the 19th century, the
Order Of St John was revived in England, inspired by the
Knights of St John's historical dedication to providing care and shelter for pilgrims and crusaders. This revival aimed to perpetuate these traditions.
In 1877,
St John Ambulance
St John Ambulance is the name of a number of affiliated organisations in different countries which teach and provide first aid and emergency medical services, and are primarily staffed by volunteers. The associations are overseen by the internat ...
was established to translate humanitarian ideals into action within the evolving industrial society. Focused on promoting first aid for the sick and wounded, the organisation relied on volunteer efforts. The initiative extended globally with the establishment of
St John Ambulance Australia
St John Ambulance Australia (also known as St John) (SJAA) is a charitable organisation, dedicated to helping people in sickness, distress, suffering or danger. It is part of an international organisation that consists of eight priories that f ...
in 1883, fostering associations in each state and territory to broaden the reach of first aid assistance.
Activity streams
St John Ambulance NSW focuses on many different areas of healthcare, including
Event health services
Responders (formerly
First Aid
First aid is the first and immediate assistance given to any person with either a minor or serious illness or injury, with care provided to preserve life, prevent the condition from worsening, or to promote recovery. It includes initial in ...
ers),
First Responders
A first responder is a person with specialized training who is among the first to arrive and provide assistance or incident resolution at the scene of an emergency, such as an accident, disaster, medical emergency, structure fire, crime, or terr ...
, Advanced Responders and
Health Care Professionals
A health professional, healthcare professional, or healthcare worker (sometimes abbreviated HCW) is a provider of health care treatment and advice based on formal training and experience. The field includes those who work as a nurse, physician (suc ...
provide comprehensive medical services at events ranging from small community events (such as school fates and sports days, corporate events), to large public events such as
Anzac Day services,
Sydney Royal Easter Show,
City2surf, Music Festivals, and New Year's Eve celebrations.
Previously known as First Aid Services (FAS), and Operations Branch (OB).
Training
St John Ambulance is one of the largest first aid training organisations in Australia. St John NSW delivers nationally recognised training through the
Australian Qualifications Framework
The Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) specifies the standards for educational qualifications in Australia. It is administered nationally by the Australian Government's Department of Industry, with oversight from the States and Territor ...
, through the
registration
Register or registration may refer to:
Arts entertainment, and media Music
* Register (music), the relative "height" or range of a note, melody, part, instrument, etc.
* ''Register'', a 2017 album by Travis Miller
* Registration (organ), th ...
of their parent organisation
St John Ambulance Australia
St John Ambulance Australia (also known as St John) (SJAA) is a charitable organisation, dedicated to helping people in sickness, distress, suffering or danger. It is part of an international organisation that consists of eight priories that f ...
.
Public
St John NSW can provide training to the public for units of competency including:
* Provide
cardiopulmonary resuscitation
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure consisting of chest compressions often combined with artificial ventilation in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore spon ...
* Provide basic emergency life support
* Provide
first aid
First aid is the first and immediate assistance given to any person with either a minor or serious illness or injury, with care provided to preserve life, prevent the condition from worsening, or to promote recovery. It includes initial in ...
(previously known as Apply First Aid and Senior First Aid)
* Provide an emergency first aid response in an education and care setting
* Provide first aid in remote situations
* Provide advanced first aid
* Provide advanced resuscitation
* Manage first aid services and resources
* Provide
pain management
Pain management is an aspect of medicine and health care involving relief of pain (pain relief, analgesia, pain control) in various dimensions, from acute and simple to chronic and challenging. Most physicians and other health professionals pr ...
* Perform rescue from a live low-voltage (LV) panel
Revenue derived from training is reinvested into training volunteers and community programs to promote the cause of saving lives through first aid awareness.
Internal
St John NSW members undergo internal training programs to obtain clinical qualifications and positions within the organisation.
* St John Responders (formerly First Aiders) hold:
** Provide first aid
** Provide cardiopulmonary resuscitation
** Provide basic emergency life support
* St John First Responders hold:
** Requirements of St John First Aider
** Provide advanced first aid
** Provide advanced resuscitation
** Provide pain management
** Certificate II in Medical Service First Response
* St John Advanced Responders hold:
** Requirements of St John First Responder
** Certificate III in Basic Health Care
* Senior officers hold:
** Certificate IV in Leadership and Management
* Trainers hold:
** Certificate IV in Training and Assessment
Members must undergo yearly reaccreditation and minimum hours to hold clinical ranks. Other positions also require ongoing professional development to demonstrate currency.
St John NSW does not train
paramedics
A paramedic is a registered healthcare professional who works autonomously across a range of health and care settings and may specialise in clinical practice, as well as in education, leadership, and research.
Not all ambulance personnel are p ...
or offer diplomas in paramedical science programs in NSW.
Education and awareness
As advocates for first aid, St John NSW volunteer trainers deliver first aid skills in the community.
St John NSW supports and funds a "First Aid in Schools" program aimed and engaging primary school aged students in first aid. St John continues to use its influence to promote early education in schools across Australia.
Examples of the program success is becoming more visible in the media:
* Nikita Stutchbury saves mother, October 2015
* Zach Redwood saves five-year-old brother, March 2016
* Preston May saves little brother, March 2016
Recognition programs are in place to award the public for use of first aid and CPR skills in the community. "Save a Life Award was an important opportunity to publicly acknowledge the admirable actions of recipients, and thank them on behalf of patients, their families and the local community."
St John produce and distribute publications aimed at educating the general public including posters and fact sheets. The "St John Australian First Aid Manual" is widely distributed and is edited by a clinical board yearly to align with the most current evidence available.
St John Ambulance Australia has created and operates an Automated External Defibrillators (AED) register. The register aims to help locate this essential equipment often required in cardiac arrest.
Equipment
St John NSW offers several services including:
* First aid kit manufacture and sales (direct or through local retailers)
* First aid stock manufactured and distribution
* Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) sales including equip, install and compliance check
* Kit audit and restock services for state Work Health and Safety Act compliance.
First aid equipment is also utilised within the Event Health Services branch.
Ophthalmic care
St John NSW raises funds and recruits staff for "ophthalmic projects in rural and remote areas of Northern NSW" the St John Ophthalmic Eye Hospital in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
.
Emergency response
St John NSW is a "participating organisation under the NSW HEALTHPLAN and maintains a formal resource commitment agreement with NSW Health" to assist in disaster relief activities.
In practice, recently this has involved St John volunteers:
* Providing first aid and support at evacuation centres for bushfires and floods.
* Providing first aid at staging areas for other emergency services (e.g.
NSW Rural Fire Service
The New South Wales Rural Fire Service (NSW RFS) is a volunteer-based firefighting agency and statutory body of the Government of New South Wales.
The NSW RFS is responsible for fire protection to approximately 95% of the land area of New South ...
) at bushfires.
* Volunteer support to public information hotlines.
* Assistance with temperature screening and testing services during the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
.
St John Ambulance volunteers also provide the emergency ambulance service for Norfolk Island.
Divisions
St John Ambulance has 72 divisions across New South Wales from 18 areas. Combined divisions include both adult members as well as cadet and junior members. Cadet divisions are only for cadets. All other divisions are for adults.
Ranks
Vehicles
Vehicles are used within St John NSW to support the organisational needs and values.
Event health services
All the event health services vehicles are fitted with flashing red or red and white beacons, sirens, highly visible vehicle livery as well as radio communications.
Strict internal policies applies to the use of lights and sirens.
Casualty management vehicles
An ambulance or patient transport vehicle that is either two or four-wheel drive. This type of vehicle is fitted with a
Stryker
The Stryker is a family of eight-wheeled armored fighting vehicles derived from the Canadian LAV III. Stryker vehicles are produced by General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada (GDLS-C) for the United States Army in a plant in London, Ontario. I ...
stretcher, piped oxygen, and other pre-hospital care equipment.
Communications vehicles
Vehicles used by the state communications group to provide radio communications for events.
Bicycle Emergency Response Team (BERT)
Vehicles used by the bicycle emergency response team to transport bicycles and other equipment to and from events.
Command vehicles
Vehicles driven by members of command staff for duties to and from the event.
Business stream
''Stub to expand''
Vehicles may be used for specialist business areas, such as the equipment supply and restocking business stream. Vehicle livery is intended to match the vehicle purpose, and may possess either corporate or service specific branding.
Role specific
''Stub to expand''
Where the Board and/or the CEO has determine that a vehicle is required for effective performance in the job role, that role may access or be assigned a fleet vehicle. Vehicles are either plain in appearance, or branded with corporate livery.
See also
*
St John Ambulance
St John Ambulance is the name of a number of affiliated organisations in different countries which teach and provide first aid and emergency medical services, and are primarily staffed by volunteers. The associations are overseen by the internat ...
**
St John Ambulance Australia
St John Ambulance Australia (also known as St John) (SJAA) is a charitable organisation, dedicated to helping people in sickness, distress, suffering or danger. It is part of an international organisation that consists of eight priories that f ...
*
Ministry of Health (New South Wales)
The New South Wales Ministry of Health, branded NSW Health, is a ministerial department of the New South Wales Government. NSW Health supports the executive and statutory roles of the Minister for Health, the Minister for Regional Health, an ...
**
New South Wales Ambulance
NSW Ambulance, previously the Ambulance Service of NSW, is an agency of NSW Health and the statutory provider of pre-hospital emergency care and ambulance services in the state of New South Wales, Australia.
Established pursuant to the and oper ...
References
External links
St John NSW WebsiteSt John Ambulance Australia Website
{{St John Ambulance
1903 establishments in Australia
Ambulance services in Australia
Health charities in Australia
Emergency medical services in Australia
Medical and health organisations based in New South Wales
St John Ambulance