St John seeks sufficiency

Press, 9 April 1979, Page 25

St John seeks sufficiency

As winter approaches, St John Ambulance Brigade administrators are looking at their manpower resources, aware that winter sporting fixtures, and the accident potential, are on the increase, and hoping that they will have sufficient members to provide the voluntary field service that has come to be expected of their organisation. Mr J. R. Begg, the St John district commissioner at Christchurch, said today that winter sports injuries were costing the country millions of dollars each year and the 7995 claims handled by the Accident Compensation Commission in the first six months of the last financial

year for sprains, strains, broken bones and similar injuries pointed up the problem.

“The St John volunteer answering the call to help someone in pain was a familiar sight on New Zealand’s sporting fields,” said the district commissioner. “One might say that his or her presence is often taken for granted. It is therefore somewhat distressing for us to learn, often through the grapevine, that at a certain sporting event spectators have been heard to ask: ‘Where are the St John people? They should be here’.”

With the extension of winter sports into Sundays as well as Saturdays, the re-

sources of St John were being severely taxed, he said. On a typical week-end he cited football, hockey, horse-racing, netball, motorcar, motor-cycle, cycle and even skate-boarding, as organised events where the St John Brigade services are necessary. St John members give their own time in a voluntary capacity to help their fellow human beings. “To those who are quick to criticise, it should be understood that the reason a St John member is not on their field could be, that he cannot be in two places at once, or that his presence had not been requested, or indeed that the request was not made until it was too

late to find a member to volunteer for the duty.” “In spite of all this, in the coming winter, St John will again do its best to cover the sporting scene, as we have done for so many years, but we do emphasise the need for organisations to approach the St John public duty officers in good time — at least three weeks before the event — and give them a good picture of the sporting fixture so its needs can be assessed. Our resources are not unlimited, but we want to be on hand whenever requests are received. We can only do this if there is adequate communication and discussion well in advance, ” he said.