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St John New Zealand


St John New Zealand (also often referred to as St John Ambulance of New Zealand) is a charitable organisation providing healthcare services to the New Zealand public.

Services
St John services include emergency and non-emergency ambulance treatment and transport, event medical services, first aid training, the sale of first aid kits and supplies, programmes offering non-clinical support for patients and their family and friends, medical alarms, caring callers who phone to check on someone’s wellbeing and health shuttles to help people with impaired mobility attend essential appointments.

Ambulance services
St John provides ambulance services for approximately 90% of New Zealand’s population. The only areas where the organisation does not provide emergency ambulance services are Wairarapa and Wellington. St John treated or transported 403,261 patients in the year ending 30 June 2012, attending more than 350,000 emergency incidents. The 610 ambulances or operational vehicles, based at 205 stations, covered more than 18 million kilometres in the same time.

First aid
In addition to ambulance services, St John provide first aid training courses, kits and supplies, automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and first aid smartphone applications.

St John offers various levels of first aid training ranging from basic training courses for the general public, to courses which help businesses meet the requirements of the Health and Safety in Employment Act, to advanced resuscitation training for health professionals. St John also offers specialised courses such as child, sports, electrical workers, outdoor and maritime first aid training.

St John is registered with the New Zealand Qualifications Authority(NZQA). The organisation is also a member of the NZ Resuscitation Council (NZRC) and the Association of Emergency Care Training Providers (AECTP).

Organisations can purchase AEDs from St John and learn how to use them. St John also sells first aid kids and supplies for home or business use.

Youth programmes
St John Youth programmes help young New Zealanders to develop first aid, health care, leadership and life skills. Penguins are aged 6 to 8, Cadets are aged 8 to 18. These programmes are fully funded by donations.

Community programmes
St John provides health shuttles, youth programmes, hospital friends, phone friends and pet outreach therapy to help people live independently, get the social connections they need and improve their wellbeing. These services are run primarily by volunteers and are often free of charge.

Health Shuttles
The Health Shuttle is a free community service that transports people to essential appointments.

Caring Caller
St John’s free Caring Caller service connects people who need a friend with people who have time to listen and chat.

Friends of the Emergency Department/Hospital Friends
St John Friends of the Emergency Department (FED) and Hospital Friends volunteers provide comfort and support to hospital patients.

St John Safe Kids
The St John Safe Kids programme gives children an understanding of emergencies, as well as how and when to call an ambulance.

Partnered programmes
St John partners with other organisations to provide Healthline (a free 24x7 health advice helpline), Outreach Therapy Pets and PRIME (a programme that uses the skills of specially-trained rural GPs and/or rural nurses to support the St John Ambulance Service during medical emergencies in remote areas).

Event medical services
St John provides medical services for a number of events of all sizes, from international sports matches to community fairs. In the year ending 30 June 2012, St John attended 8,945 events.

St John medical alarms
The St John Medical Alarm service is designed to help people live independently for longer. The alarm is a pendant which is worn around the neck or wrist. If the person has an accident or feels unwell or at risk they can press the emergency button on the alarm. St John immediately calls the person, speaking through a loudspeaker in the alarm’s base unit. If the person does not answer, an ambulance is dispatched.

Funding
The organisation is funded by contracts with the Ministry of Health, Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) and District Health Boards, patient part charges, contributions from its health-related commercial activities and community fundraising and donations.

ASB partnership
In 2008, St John and ASB Bank initiated a partnership. The partnership helps to expand support for St John services and deliver programmes like CPR training on a wide scale. At the same time, the partnership gives ASB the opportunity to strengthen connections with local communities and give their employees the opportunity to get involved with community services by volunteering for St John.

The partnership was launched with ASB providing the opportunity for 1,000 school children at 10 schools to learn the lifesaving resuscitation skill CPR for free.

The Order of St John
St John in New Zealand has global links to the international Order of St John. Her Majesty the Queen is Sovereign Head of the Order and the Governor-General of New Zealand is the head or Prior of St John in New Zealand. In 1888, in recognition of its work, Queen Victoria made the Order of St John a Royal Order of Chivalry. In New Zealand, Royal Honours continue to be awarded to members for outstanding contributions and commitment to care for their communities. These Royal Honours are an independent part of the New Zealand Honours System.

History
A branch of the St John Ambulance was first founded in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 1885. Further branches quickly spread across the country providing first aid and patient transport, often in small towns where medical services were scant and the workforce was susceptible to serious injury.

The first St John ambulances were wheeled hand litters complete with haversacks of equipment, pulled through the streets by volunteers. Horse drawn ambulances soon replaced the litters, and motorised ambulances became commonplace from the 1920s. These were revolutionary in their day but a far cry from the advanced ambulances and support vehicles used today, carrying the latest medical, and communications equipment.

In 1945, due to the efforts of St John in New Zealand during the Second World War, the organisation was elevated to a full Priory, with the Governor-General of New Zealand as the Prior.

During the 1970s and 1980s much restructuring took place in response to changing social and economic conditions, moving away from the traditional militaristic structure and resulting in the current modern organisation.

Today, St John New Zealand is a major health service provider in New Zealand.