Volunteering With St John's Ambulance

If you would like to offer practical help to people in the area of health then volunteering with St John’s Ambulance could be ideal. It offers the opportunity to train in first aid and then to put it into practice. Members of St John’s Ambulance provide first aid training for others and attend gigs, festivals and events to ensure the safety and wellbeing of those who attend.

How to Find a Group

There are over 40,000 members of St John’s Ambulance so the chances are high that there will be a group operating in your area. Get in touch to find out about training in first aid. This is the first step in becoming a First Aider. The course will take place over several days and lasts approximately 16 hours. It will cover all the basics of dealing with emergencies such as accidents and cardiac arrest as well as showing you how to treat basic wounds cuts, bruises, strains and sprains. At the end of the course you will be awarded a certificate which is valid for up to three years and qualifies you as a registered first aider. There are also specialised courses which you can attend. These include first aid for motorcyclists, first aid for anaphylaxis (anaphylactic shock) and first aid for sport.

What Working With St John Ambulance Involves

Once you have completed the course you can then volunteer as a member of St John’s Ambulance to provide support at events. Your role at an event is to monitor for people in need of medical assistance. Often you will be the first point of contact for someone with an injury or health condition. Your role is to assess their situation, inform the necessary authorities if necessary and to provide first aid if required. This will involve either treating the injury/problem or making the person comfortable until further medical assistance such as an ambulance arrives.

What Personal Qualities Will you Need?

To fulfil this role you need to be calm, patient and methodical with a good grasp of conditions and an awareness of suitable treatments. As you will be dealing with people who may be upset or distressed you will need to have a gentle, reassuring manner to help comfort them and put them at their ease.

Experienced first aiders can go on to take on other roles within St John’s Ambulance. For example you could become a cycle responder. You attend events, marches and gigs in the usual way but attend on bicycle, giving you quicker and better access to the crowds. You join a cycling unit and if necessary receive cycling training to National Standard Level three.

Another route for an experienced first aider to follow is to become a trainer. St John’s Ambulance trains over half a million people in first aid every year. Full training is provided to prepare you to run an entire course whether it is a basic three hour course or a more extensive one lasting several days.

In addition to first aid work there are other ways in which you can volunteer with St John’s Ambulance. If you choose to volunteer for a support role you could end up helping out with promoting the service, raising funds or helping out with administration.