| St John Ambulance Australia | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | SJAA |
| Motto | Pro fide Pro utilitate hominum (Latin: for the faith and in the service of humanity)' |
| Formation | 1883 |
| Type | Charitable organisation Limited company |
| Headquarters | National Circuit, Barton, ACT 2603 |
| Location | Australia |
| Membership | 12,631[1] |
| Chief Commissioner | Alan Eade ASM OStJ |
| Key people | Peter LeCornu (CEO), Dr Neil Conn AO (Chancellor) |
| Affiliations | St. John Ambulance |
| Website | http://www.stjohn.org.au |
St John Ambulance Australia (SJAA) is a self-funding 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 form the Order of St John.
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St John First Aid training centres were established in Australia in the late 19th century. On the 13 June 1883 a public meeting was held in the Melbourne Town Hall to form a local branch of the association. By the end of June 1883, a centre had been established under the leadership of Edward Neild.[2]
The first division of the St John Ambulance Brigade (now known as first aid services/operations branch) was established in Glebe, New South Wales in 1903. A division of this organisation is still in operation today and is known as St John Ambulance Glebe Division. After this initial division was established other states followed suit, with divisions being set up in other states soon after. In 1987, the organisation adopted a single public title, "St John Ambulance Australia". The cadet movement was established in Australia in 1925 with a division in Glebe, NSW. The first Grand Prior's Badge issued outside the UK went to a cadet from Marrickville Cadet Division in 1933 named Marion Higgins.
In 2005, it was decided that the organisation would adopt a corporate structure with closer relationships between the branches of St John, known as 'One St John'.
The national board oversees St John in the whole of Australia. The organisation is then divided into the states/territories who have their own boards and oversee the day to day running of St John. Some states are also divided into regions, who oversee all branches and report to the state boards. St John Ambulance Australia has four main branches, with each one having its own specific area of operation.
St John provides volunteer first aid services at events and emergencies.[3] First Aid Services is divided into states, regions and divisions, headed nationally by Chief Commissioner Alan Eade ASM OStJ.
Events covered by St. John Australia include sports, such as the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games, where a team of 5000 members treated over 3000 casualties.[4] Other events covered include sporting events, such as the Australian Open, music concerts and community fetes.
One major venue covered by St. John is the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which is the among the safest places in the world to suffer a heart attack owing to the extent of the pre-hospital care provided primary by St. John volunteers at the venue.[5]
St John volunteers support state emergency management and disaster plans in some states, in conjunction with other organisations like the State Emergency Service.[6]
St John is the largest first aid training organisation in Australia.[7] Apart from its flagship Senior First Aid course, St John also offer instruction in advanced topics such as ALS (Advanced Life Support), which includes Advanced Resuscitation, AED (Automated External Defibrillation) and analgesic administration (including entinox gas and methoxyflurane analgesics).
St John Ambulance Australia raises funds and recruits staff for the St John Ophthalmic Eye Hospital in Jerusalem.[8] Funds are raised through public donations, and income received from conducting first aid courses and selling first aid kits and merchandise.
St John Community Care conducts programs that are specific to each state. These activities range from assisting disadvantaged youth, to providing voluntary transport and support programs for the frail and elderly.[9]
In Western Australia and the Northern Territory St John Ambulance provides the statutory ambulance service.[10][11] This service is provided through a combination of paid and volunteer staff. Paid ambulance officers and paramedics are used in the metropolitan areas and larger regional centres. Volunteer ambulance officers are used in regional areas and some outer metropolitan areas.
| Rank | Notes |
|---|---|
| Junior | Aged 8–12 |
| Cadet | Aged 11–15, has Level 1 First Aid Qualification |
| Cadet Corporal | Ibid. |
| Senior Cadet | Aged 14–18, has Level 2 First Aid Qualification |
| Senior Cadet Corporal | Ibid. |
| Senior Cadet Sergeant | Ibid. |
| Cadet Leader ^ | Aged 18–25 |
^ Cadet Leaders are adult members who have undertaken a specific leadership course and are ranked above cadets but below all adult ranks
| Rank | Equivalent Australian Army Rank |
|---|---|
| Private | Private |
| Corporal | Corporal |
| Sergeant | Sergeant |
| Officer Grade 6 | Second Lieutenant |
| Officer Grade 5 | First Lieutenant |
| Officer Grade 4 | Captain |
| Officer Grade 3 | Major |
| Officer Grade 2 | Lieutenant-Colonel |
| Officer Grade 1 | Colonel |
| State Commissioner | Brigadier |
| National Officer Grade 3 | Brigadier-General |
| National Officer Grade 2 | Major-General |
| National Officer Grade 1 | Lieutenant-General |
St John runs Cadet Divisions for children aged 8–17, this includes Juniors (8-11) and Cadets (11-17). These can be found in most towns or suburbs of major cities in Australia. Examples are Glebe Division and Bathurst Division in New South Wales, Greater Dandenong Division in Victoria and Playford Cadet Division in South Australia.
The youth program in Australia, focuses on developing young people in a variety of aspects. Young members are taught first aid and participate in youth development and social activities. For cadets, it is also possible to study for various 'badges'. Some of the topics available include counter-disaster, animal care and cookery.
Across most divisions, youth and cadet divisions meet once a week, in a designated place, to conduct a training night. There is a designated training program for youth and cadet divisions[12]
Youth members within Event and Emergency First Aid Service programs attend public duties to provide first aid at various events to members of the public. These duties include things such as: Big Day Out, Royal Easter Show (NSW), National Folk Festival (ACT), AFL Games (All AFL states), NRL, Super 12, and Rugby Union games, amongst other popular events.[13] There are also many more lower profile events, like local fetes and markets. At these duties, St John members use treatment tools such as oxygen therapy equipment, defibrillators and analgesic gases on top of the standard first aid equipment.
In most states, new youth members(Minimum age 14)will be put through a Senior First Aid Course (SFA) free of charge.
St John youth also provides leadership opportunities for people of all ages. The program possesses a leadership program and a ranking system similar to the military.
First aid competitions are also held each year. In these competitions, cadets (in teams of up to 3, or on their own) are tested on their first aid skill, practical thinking and problem solving ability, and scene management skills. A national competition is held every year, at the National Cadet Camp.
Each State and Territory is encouraged to facilitate provision of a Youth Council, the National Office also facilitates the Australian Youth Council. Broadly, Youth Councils provide guidance to St John on issues affecting the organisation and its future development, particularly concerning the opinion and interests of young people.
In 2006, the Australian Youth Council (AYC) restructured to be made up of 16 State/Territory representatives (nominated by their State/Territory, including the State/Territory Chairperson and another representative) and 5 National portfolio holders, including a Communications Coordinator, Training and Leadership Coordinator, Research Development Coordinator, Policy Coordinator and Australian Chair. The AYC Chair also sits as a full member of the National Board of Directors for St John Ambulance Australia. The aims of the Australian Youth Council include:
1. To work across St John to make it the volunteering organisation of choice for young people in Australia.
2. To provide opportunity for young people to actively participate in the governance of St John.
3. To provide guidance to St John that will contribute to the further development and improvement of the organisation.
4. To develop young leaders in St John.
5. To be relevant to young people.
The AYC usually meets in person once or twice a year, usually including the National Conference or Priory in June, and another meeting (Youth Stakeholders Weekend) later in the year, as well as teleconferences during the year which may include either the entire Council or the National Team.
Youth councils consist of young people in the organisation who are aged 12 to 25 years.
In July 2009, the ABC's Four Corners broadcast a report identifying failures in St John's call-out system in Western Australia, where St. John run the ambulance service, specifically the failure of call centre operators to appropriately prioritise and respond ambulances.[14] The program identified four deaths in which dispatch and prioritisation errors were involved. The WA Health Minister, Dr Kim Hames, has since promised to review "reports of significant wrongdoing, and see if it is correct" in order to prevent recurrence of such events.[15]
The operations of St. John Ambulance in Victoria have come under particular scrutiny since the ascension of Stephen Horton to the position of CEO in 2007. In May 2009, an email sent by then Eastern Region Superintendent, Nicole McEwan, to all divisions was posted on Wikileaks and subsequently reported on on the news.com.au website.[16] The email threatened members with "termination of membership" if they continued to privately discuss the reporting of sexual abuse in St. John (Victoria) by the media at the time, on the social media website Facebook.[17] The Herald Sun article reported that victims of the abuse, all St. John cadets at the time, were paid 'hush money' and signed confidentiality agreements, preventing them from speaking out about their abuse.
The discontent that this and other events generated within the volunteer membership was evidenced in October 2008 when an email, masquerading as being from CEO Stephen Horton, was sent around to all divisions in Victoria. The email had a sarcastic tone and was filled with both hints at misconduct and clear-cut assertions made with verifiable evidence, including detailing information detailing the Victorian Board's spending of $30,000 of volunteer-earned money on a trip to the Gold Coast in Queensland.[18] In June 2010, the email was again sent around, this time using an internal St. John email address, prompting an email response from Stephen Horton, in which he threatened to bring "those responsible to account" and claimed that the email was "grossly inaccurate".[19]
In December 2011, the Herald Sun Newspaper ran a story detailing a WorkSafe Victoria investigation into St. John Ambulance in Victoria, specifically numerous claims by current and former employees of bullying and abuses by some staff and managers.[20] Deputy CEO, Theron Vassiliou, said that St. John Ambulance had a policy for bullying and that it did not condone such actions.
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