St John Goes Off-Road

5 April 2018

The vital services provided by St John Ambulance are not just required in suburban areas; occasionally, they are called on to go bush, saving lives in difficult terrain and less-than-ideal physical environments.

To carry out this important work, St John Ambulance Northern Beaches needed a new off-road camper trailer to carry its first-aid equipment.

Part purchased with funds from the IMB Bank Community Foundation, the new trailer carries emergency equipment including oxygen, defibrillators, analgesics and hot water and cooling facilities for treatment of patients.

Marco Franse, Superintendent of St John Ambulance Northern Beaches Division, says the new trailer was urgently needed and it has already been deployed at various events and emergency incidents.

“St John Ambulance is such a necessary part of the community and our trained volunteers help thousands of people every year.

“We have already used the trailer a number of times including at the 2017 Oxfam Trailwalker 100-kilometre walk and City to Surf. It has been invaluable and several other emergency services are keen to now get their own trailer,” Mr Franse said.

During the Oxfam Trailwalker event last August, St John Ambulance treated more than 60 people at the trailer, including several walkers who were severely dehydrated.

“Because we have two beds in the trailer and we had a registered nurse with us, we were able to treat patients in a mini-clinic set-up.

“Non-urgent patients could be treated in the canopy area while the more serious issues were treated in the area with the beds. We had about 10-12 patients who were with us on the beds for an extended period.

“The trailer meant we were able to look after patients on-site rather than call ambulances to transport them to hospital,” he said.

The trailer is already scheduled to assist at the Taste of Manly Food Festival in May, the 2018 Oxfam Trailwalker event in August and the 2018 City to Surf.