WORK OF ST. JOHN AMBULANCE

Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 154, 25 March 1939, Page 13

WORK OF ST. JOHN AMBULANCE

Year Of Activity In

Review

ASSISTANCE IN HAWKES

BAY FLOODS

The Chief Commissioner for the St, John Ambulance Brigade, Colonel G. Barclay, 0.8. E., K.SU, V.D., F.C.S. (N.Z.), has released bis annual report for 1948. The membership of the brigade, it is stated, now totals t>l73, against 4693 for the year 1937. Twentyfour new divisions (six ambulance, six nursing, nine cadet ambulance, and three cadet nursing) have been registered during tlie year.

“It is not generally recognized in the larger centres bow many sports fields are catered for on Saturday afternoons during the winter months by men and women of the St. John Ambulance Brigade,” the report adds. “The public duty carried out on a selected Saturday in Wellington, shows that 289 games were patrolled by 175 members, and that 373 cases were attended to.

“During the year members attended regularly at ambulance stations and when calls came went out as assistants to the drivers of the motor ambulances. From the records kept by divisions it is shown that there was a total attendance of 8939, and that the time put in amounted t 0.44,401 hours. This work was carried out in Wnangarei, Dargaville, Auckland, Cambridge, Rotorua, ■ Thames, Taumaruuui, ’Wellington, Wanganui, Stratford, Christchurch, Lyttelton, Timaru, Oamaru, Dunedin, and other places. Efficiency Praised.

“The work in the Wellington district has been carried out satisfactorily, and the standard of efficiency maintained. Two cadet ambulance divisions were registered during the year—Brooklyn and Palmerston North. The district now consists of 15 ambulance, 18 nursing, 13 cadet ambulance, and nine cadet nursing divisions, a total of 55. The services of brigade members have been offered for ambulance duties at the New Zealand Centennial Exhibition, and have been accepted by the Exhibition Company. Arrangements are being made for the provision of suitable accommodation for the use by ambulance and nursing divisions. “In the Wellington corps, the year’s activities have covered a wide field. As usual, many interesting lectures have been given by members of the medical profession, and instruction has also been given in anti-gas and disaster emergency conditions. Public duties have been carried out regularly during the year, and a total of 5624 cases has been recorded. The cases of first aid not on public duty totalled 12,611, and removals 1095. Members of nursing divisions continue to report at Wellington Hospital for duty at certain hours on Saturdays and Sundays. In addition many members have attended patients, after discharge from hospital, in their own homes. Service was also rendered by nursing divisions acting as escorts to children travelling to and from Otaki Health Camp from various places in the district. It is recorded that some 40 members of the brigade are members of the Wellington. Blood Transfusion Service. Hawke’s Bay Floods.

“Some words of praise are due to members of the Napier ambulance and nursing divisions for the services rendered by them during the disastrous floods which ocurred in the Esk Valley at the end of April. An appeal was made by Miss K. Matthews, a member of the Napier nursing division, to the citizens of Napier and the surrounding areas, to go into Esk Valley on the Saturday and Sunday immediately following the floods, and dig the silt out of the houses, and thus enable the settlers to retrieve some of their household goods. The response was overwhelming. and for two weeks the ambulance division provided men and equipment for first aid attention to both working parties and settlers. “In the Canterbury district members of the brigade, who are in possession of first-aid outfits are being supplied with badges in the form of stickers, for placing on the windscreens of their private cars. This will indicate that the driver of the car carrying the badge is fully qualified to administer first-aid and ready to give his services in the event of an accident on the road. It is hoped that this practice will shortly be adopted in other districts,” the report added.