St John Ambulance (England and the Islands)

St John Ambulance
England and the Islands

Logo of St John Ambulance England and the Islands
Formation 1877
Type Charitable organisation
Limited company
Headquarters Registered Office: St John's Gate, Clerkenwell, London EC1M 4DA
Headquarters: 27 St John's Lane, Clerkenwell, London EC1M 4BU
Location
Membership
Not reported since 2012
Chief Volunteer
 Mr Mick Messenger
Key people
 Sue Killen (CEO)[1]
Affiliations St John Ambulance
Johanniter International
Revenue
£91.4m per annum[2]
Staff
1682[2]
Website http://www.sja.org.uk

St John Ambulance is a volunteer-led, charitable non-governmental organisation dedicated to the teaching and practice of first aid in England. Along with St. Andrew's First Aid in Scotland, St John Ambulance in Wales and St John Ambulance Northern Ireland, St John Ambulance is one of four affiliates of the international St. John Ambulance movement in the United Kingdom.[3] The organisation is a subsidiary of The Priory of England and the Islands of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem, a registered charity,[4] (part of the worldwide Venerable Order of St John) which also oversees similar activities in Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.

History

The St John Ambulance Association was set up in 1877 by the Venerable Order of Saint John to teach industrial workers first aid, so that they could provide on-the-spot treatment in emergencies. Workers rarely had ready access to a doctor in 19th century workplaces, and since accidents were frequent, death or disability from injuries were common. The St John Ambulance Association set up training sessions across the country, particularly in workplaces in areas of heavy industry, but also in villages, seaside towns and suburban areas.

In 1887, trained volunteers were organised into a uniformed Brigade to provide a first aid and ambulance service at public events. In many parts of England (and in parts of Scotland, until 1908), St John Ambulance was the first and only provider of an ambulance service right up to the middle of the 20th century, when the National Health Service was founded. When there were far fewer doctors and hospital beds than today, St John Ambulance nurses looked after the sick and injured in their own homes.

The St John Ambulance Brigade and St John Ambulance Association merged in 1968 to form St John Ambulance, a single organisation providing both training and first aid cover.

During 2013, St John Ambulance trained approximately 278,000 adults through its workplace and community first aid programmes, and directly trained 91,000 schoolchildren. St John Ambulance personnel attended 45,000 public events, treating approximately 102,000 individuals. It also distributed 100,000 free first aid guides nationwide and its free smartphone app was downloaded by 148,000 people.[2]

Key dates within the history of St John Ambulance in England

First aid cover at events

St John Ambulance provides first aid cover at thousands of events every year. This service is provided free at the point of delivery, although a charge may be made to the event organiser for provision of the service at their event.

In addition to providing volunteer first aiders for events, where necessary St John Ambulance can provide paramedics, doctors, nurses and cycle responders, as well as mobile treatment centres, ambulances and other medical provision.[2]

The organisation covers many major events across England including the London Marathon, V Festival and Hyde Park concerts, as well as smaller and charitable events such as fetes and local fairs.[2]

Training

St John Ambulance runs courses in first aid and health and safety for members of the public, training 254,000 people in 2013.[2] Its First aid at work course is used by many companies to train designated individuals as first-aiders, as required by employment laws; specialist training is also available, including courses for schools staff and people working with children, and professional drivers.[5]

Charitable Community first aid courses also offer people of all ages the chance to learn basic first aid skills at little or no charge. In 2013, 24,000 people attended these courses.[2]

Work with young people

St John Ambulance teaches first aid to thousands of young people, through programmes including Badgers (for seven- to ten-year-olds), Cadets (10- to 17-year-olds - see St John Ambulance Cadets in the UK for more information), LINKS (based in colleges and universities)[6] and RISE, a specialist project aimed at those not in education, employment or training.[7]

In 2013, 91,000 schoolchildren were trained in first aid by St John Ambulance's schools team, while hundreds of thousands more had access to the organisation's training materials for schools, which are available to download for free from its Teach the difference website.[2]

In 2014, the organisation also launched The Big First Aid Lesson, a free first aid lesson, which was streamed live into classrooms across England. 32,384 students took part in the inaugural event, and another is planned for June 2015.[8]

Super Badger Award

St John Ambulance Badgers work towards the 'Super Badger Award'. This award consists of members completing 12 subjects, such as 'Creative', 'Global' and 'Wild' Badger. The award is split into five sections, where Badgers advance through completing more subjects.[9]

Grand Prior Award scheme

The Grand Prior Award is the primary award designed for cadets. The award is an essential part of Cadet life, and consists of completion of 24 subject areas over the period of Cadet membership, until the age of 21.[10]

Every year a reception is held at Buckingham Palace and is attended by HRH The Princess Royal to celebrate chosen individuals who have gained their Grand Prior Award.[11]

Amalfi Challenge

The Amalfi Award is open to all Cadets and adult volunteers aged 16 to 25. The structure of the award focuses on personal task set by the individual. These tasks are categorised into service, relationships, society and challenge. Each participant has to undertake 12 tasks and at completion of 4, 8 and 12 subjects a badge is awarded.[12]

St John Ambulance units dedicated to meeting the needs of student and university communities can be found at many institutes of higher education across England. These units, known as LINKS units, were originally established at universities to form a 'link' between Cadets and adult volunteering, allowing people to stay affiliated to the organization and maintain their skills while in higher education. However, LINKS units have become integral parts of the student community and the 90% of LINKS member are new to St John Ambulance at the point of joining, as students new to university look for societies to join.[13]

Campaigning and awareness-raising

St John Ambulance campaigns to raise awareness of the importance of first aid, and equip more people with life-saving skills. Its 2013 Save the boy campaign, which featured an interactive element, demonstrating how to put a casualty in the recovery position, reached 15 million people through television and online media.[2]

In January 2015, it launched a new campaign, The Chokeables, designed to teach parents how to treat a choking infant. The animated film featured the voices of actors John Hurt, David Walliams, Johnny Vegas and David Mitchell.[14]

During the annual Save a Life September campaign, St John Ambulance trainers hold free first aid demonstrations in public spaces around the country, handing out first aid guides to attendees.[15] A free first aid app for smartphones is also available to download.[16]

Ambulance services

(CATS 1) St John Ambulance

St John Ambulance is a leading supplier of ambulance services in England, providing patient transport services to over 100,000 people year, and working in partnership with NHS trusts, private healthcare groups, local authorities and individuals.[17]

Services offered include A&E support, patient transport, bariatric transfer, paediatric and neonatal services, high-dependency transfers, planned journeys, repatriations, community first response and emergency response and major incident support.

In 2010, St John Ambulance was awarded the Private Ambulance Service Team of the Year Award by the Ambulance Services Institute[18] for the work it carried out with the CATS (Great Ormond Street) and the South Thames Retrieval Service (Evelina Children's Hospital)

First aid and medical equipment services

St John Ambulance Supplies (often abbreviated to SJS) is a trading sub-division of St John Ambulance providing first aid and medical equipment and consumables, training equipment, publications, health and safety equipment and clothing. Where a profit is made, surplus from sales are diverted into supporting the charitable work of the Order of St John and the St John Ophthalmic Hospital in Jerusalem.

SJS opened its doors at St John’s Gate in Clerkenwell on 12 February 1879 and was originally known as The Stores Depot. It is now a major commercial operation supplying to the public, private and voluntary sector.

Vehicles

St John Ambulance Crusader ambulance in a London street.

As individual (local) Divisions of St John Ambulance have historically been responsible for providing their own vehicles, these have taken many and varied forms, beginning with horse-drawn ambulances. Even into the late twentieth century, with some centralisation of control and classification of vehicle types such as Motor Ambulance Units (the title arising historically as a distinction from horse-drawn units), First Aid Posts and Rapid Deployment Vehicles, there remained within the organisation an enormous range of deployed vehicles of different types and even assorted local vehicle liveries. Some ambulances were donated second-hand from industrial plants, some were purchased (from different suppliers) and some were local conversions of commercial vehicles. At the start of the twenty-first century, new legislation regarding emergency ambulances effectively rendered a significant proportion of the then current St John Ambulance fleet redundant. The solution was the development of a specialist St John Ambulance vehicle, which was designed jointly by the organisation and vehicle manufacturer Renault. The result was the Crusader 900 ambulance.

An early assessment suggested that 100 of the Crusader ambulances (costing, at that time, £40,000 each) would be required immediately, representing an investment of £4 million. In 2000, St John Ambulance committed itself to raising £2 million by public subscription, whilst English and Welsh Freemasons committed a further £2 million, supplying 50 Crusader ambulances which were handed over in local ceremonies across the country during 2000 and 2001.[19][20] This very large donation allowed the rapid transformation of the national St John Ambulance fleet of front-line ambulances within a much shorter time-scale than could otherwise have been possible. Subsequently, many local Provinces of Freemasons have maintained relations with their local St John Ambulance County units and supported the running costs of these vehicles or even donated further (additional) Crusader ambulances.[21]

By 2004, the national St John Ambulance emergency vehicle fleet was in a standard corporate livery, with standard vehicle types:[22]

Image showing the various vehicles St John Use (Left to Right: 2 Crusaders, a Challenger, a Companion Plus and 2 further Crusaders)

Specialist Vehicles

St John Ambulance also maintains specialist response options in particular locations, such as the Motorcycle Units, Cycle Response Units, as well as larger vehicles or trailers used as static First Aid posts.

Volunteers

The majority of St John Ambulance's volunteers deliver first aid at events and as Community First Responders or work with young people as youth leaders. Other specialist roles are available for healthcare professionals, volunteer managers and in safeguarding, human resources, quality and assurance and health and safety.[23]

Training and skills

Volunteers receive training according to the role they fulfill. Those volunteering to provide Event First Aid services are offered a number of first aid qualifications, ranging from a basic emergency life support course and the further first aid modules, which deal with common injuries and ailments, through to Emergency Transport Attendant training which covers some of the competencies of the National Health Service Ambulance Technicians. The training for those delivering Youth Services comprises emergency life support training, coupled with training from the organisation's own youth leader training suite including Essential skills in youth work and Leadership skills in youth work, depending on the volunteer's role.[24] In addition to medical training offered, members have the opportunity to carry out other operational roles. These include event planning, event management, radio communications/control, plus other support roles such as providing member refreshements at events etc.

Healthcare Professionals

Qualified healthcare professionals may also volunteer their time in St John Ambulance. These include:

All healthcare professionals have their qualifications and professional status checked with the appropriate regulatory body before practising in St John Ambulance. Professionals can carry out any skill appropriate to their type, level of training, competence and when relevant to the situation or patient. Healthcare professionals wear coloured rank slides to distinguish them from internally trained first aiders and ambulance personnel. With the exception of Paramedics, any HCP wishing to work on an ambulance though must become a PTA/ETA, but parts of the training may be omitted if the candidate can attain accreditation of prior learning. This is dependent on the HCP's professional training already undertaken. This is to ensure that the HCP is prepared for working in an ambulance/emergency environment (which they may never have done).

Structure

In 2012, St John Ambulance was reorganised into an eight-region structure, with the goal of increasing accountability and maximising charitable outputs.[25]

As part of the reorganisation, a more streamlined structure was introduced, with fewer layers of management between the front-line and the St John Ambulance Board.

St John Ambulance regions

Each region is managed by a regional director, and is responsible for the delivery of programmes developed and overseen by National Headquarters. All eight regions are accountable to the Care Quality Commission and are independently inspected by the CQC against 14 different outcomes, such as care and welfare of people who use the services, cleanliness and infection control and supporting workers.[2]

District

The region is divided into a number of districts, usually between three and five, depending on the number of units in the region. A district may contain one or more former "counties" from the previous structure. Each district is managed by a district manager, and area managers report to them. District managers are in overall charge of all activities in their district, assisted by the area managers. They have a support team of district specialists in place coordinating functions such as event cover and youth provision, but they have no line management responsibility and report to their respective regional departmental manager. Each district usually contains 3–6 areas.

Area

Districts are further divided into geographic areas, led by an area manager. Unit managers report to the area manager, and the area manager is in overall charge of the activities of the units in their area, within the boundaries of policies etc. set by Regional Headquarters (RHQ) and NHQ. They are assisted/advised by district specialists to provide the day-to-day functions of the organisation, such as member training and event cover. Each area contains about 8–15 units.

Unit

A unit (formerly a "division") is the smallest administrative division of St John Ambulance. Most volunteers are managed within a unit and by a unit manager. Units traditionally were ambulance divisions (for men), nursing divisions (for women) and ambulance cadet divisions and nursing cadet divisions for boys and girls respectively. In modern times, only a few single-sex divisions remain and most are either termed 'combined division' (men and women together) or 'quadrilateral division' (men and women, boys and girls under one command structure). Other types of local units exist, such as Badger Setts (for 5- to 10-year-olds) and specialised groups such as cycle response units, LINKS units within universities and sometimes informal social groups, each with a distinctive command, management or leadership structure. The unit manager may have one or more assistant unit managers to assist them. The unit usually has a weekly meeting where members train, practice their skills, and occasionally have visits from guest speakers. Youth units (badgers and cadets) follow the St John Ambulance youth programme. Units plan and execute the cover of most of the events requested of the organisation, supported by their area and district managers, district specialists and regional events team. Units are where most people start their time in the organisation.

Uniform and ranks

St John Ambulance first aid personnel wear a service delivery uniform consisting of a green shirt, black combat trousers, either a green and black Parka Jacket or a reversible fleece and appropriate black footwear. A ceremonial uniform still exists, consisting of a peaked cap, tailored jacket, white shirt, black trousers, black shoes and clip-on tie. All rank insignia are worn on the outer layer of the jacket; on the service delivery uniform, a role badge is worn to denote the wearer's first-aid qualification. High-visibility two-tone yellow-and-green tabards (accepted to denote medical personnel) are only worn when the risk assessment of the event calls for it.[27]

St John Ambulance in the British Armed forces

St John Ambulance now has British divisions running where there are a large amount of British servicemen and women with their families overseas. These are namely in Germany and Cyprus. The divisions are directly linked to the UK and national headquarters so that members can transfer to another division or county as they would be able to do at home. The overseas divisions are classed as two 'areas' in the St John Ambulance structure. The uniform reflects the current service delivery uniform.

Volunteers can receive training in the full range of St John Ambulance qualifications.

The overseas forces divisions were originally founded in 1980. They remained very strong for several years, however, as the forces in Germany were reduced many divisions closed. Since the final withdrawal of forces in Germany is expected in the next few years, the role for St John Ambulance will end. However the two units in Cyprus founded in 1991 will continue to provide a service to the community there.

As well as providing medical cover at events, St John Ambulance British Forces provides first-aid training for people of all ages.

St John Ambulance British Forces Overseas works closely with the German Ambulance Services, particularly the sister organisation "Die Johanniter" in providing first aid and ambulance cover German public events where many British or English Speakers are expected to attend. Members can occasionally be seen on their non-emergency and emergency vehicles responding to public calls. St John Ambulance can also be seen working with "Malteser", the German Red Cross and local fire brigades which provide ambulance services. The German Emergency Services also assist St John Ambulance at British events on military areas where many German civilians are expected to attend.

Relations with the Order of St John and other organisations

Although the Order of St John is largely seen as a Christian organisation for historical reasons, St John Ambulance does not restrict membership to nor promote any particular religion or denomination. Technically, it falls under the sovereignty of The Queen, and thus is linked to the Church of England; however, this relationship is more tradition than authority, and adult members are not required to pledge allegiance to or support either the monarchy or the Christian faith. Cadet members do still make a pledge upon joining to the monarch and to God.

St John Ambulance personnel serve alongside the British Red Cross, whose members also undergo advanced training in first aid and event cover. Both organisations work support the statutory services in times of civil emergency or crisis.

St John Ambulance, St. Andrew's First Aid in Scotland and the British Red Cross co-author and authorize the official First Aid Manual,[28] the de facto UK guide for emergency first aid.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Killen, Sue. "CEO - SJA UK". Retrieved 7 May 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Annual reports
  3. ↑ "Order of St John".
  4. ↑ Charity Commission. THE PRIORY OF ENGLAND AND THE ISLANDS OF THE MOST VENERABLE ORDER OF THE HOSPITAL OF ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM, registered charity no. 1077265.
  5. ↑ "http://www.sja.org.uk/sja/first-aid-training-courses.aspx". External link in |title= (help)
  6. ↑ "http://www.sja.org.uk/sja/young-people.aspx". External link in |title= (help)
  7. ↑ "http://www.sja.org.uk/sja/young-people/rise.aspx?utm_source=NHQ&utm_medium=Short+URL&utm_term=rise&utm_content=textlink&utm_campaign=rise". External link in |title= (help)
  8. ↑ "http://www.sja.org.uk/sja/young-people/schools/the-big-first-aid-lesson.aspx". External link in |title= (help)
  9. ↑ "St John Ambulance Badger Programme".
  10. ↑ "St John Ambulance Grand Prior Award Scheme".
  11. ↑ "St John Ambulance website".
  12. ↑ "St John Ambulance Amalfi Challenge".
  13. ↑ "St John Ambulance LINKS".
  14. ↑ "http://www.campaignlive.co.uk/thework/1328925/st-john-ambulance-the-chokeables-bartle-bogle-hegarty/?DCMP=ILC-SEARCH". External link in |title= (help)
  15. ↑ "http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Learn-life-saving-skills-free-St-John-Ambulance/story-22952906-detail/story.html". External link in |title= (help)
  16. ↑ "http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/sep/12/st-john-ambulance-calls-football-fans-learn-first-aid-skills-celebrate-like-hero". External link in |title= (help)
  17. ↑ "http://www.sja.org.uk/sja/what-we-do/ambulance-services.aspx". External link in |title= (help)
  18. ↑ "http://www.gordon-yates.co.uk/news/article.asp?article=59". External link in |title= (help)
  19. ↑ See references on the Mark Master Masons website of Gloucestershire & Herefordshire, here.
  20. ↑ Referenced by the Mark Master Masons of County Durham on their charity webpages, here.
  21. ↑ Hertfordshire Freemasons presented their ambulance to Hertfordshire St John Ambulance in 2001. In 2005, they donated a second vehicle, as referenced on their news website, here.
  22. ↑ Fleet details outlined in the St John Ambulance Supplies Department publication "The New Driving Force", first published June 2004, by SJS, London, EC1V 7NE.
  23. ↑ "http://www.sja.org.uk/sja/volunteer.aspx". External link in |title= (help)
  24. ↑ St John Ambulance Youth leader training suite Archived December 3, 2013, at the Wayback Machine.
  25. 1 2 "http://www.sja.org.uk/sja/pdf/Order-of-St-John-Annual-report-2012.pdf" (PDF). External link in |title= (help)
  26. ↑ "http://www.thirdsector.co.uk/st-john-ambulance-made-155-redundancies-last-year-annual-report-reveals/finance/article/1207944". External link in |title= (help)
  27. ↑ "https://www.sja.org.uk/shop/pdf/Looking%20the%20part%20catalogue%202013.pdf" (PDF). External link in |title= (help)
  28. ↑ "http://www.dk.com/uk/9781409342007-first-aid-manual". External link in |title= (help)
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