16th February 2010

It’s been a busy time for St John Ambulance this month in the Territory. Following the recent explosion at the TIO premises on 3 February, and more recently the tour bus roll over approximately 120km north of Tennant Creek on 13 February, St John Ambulance has once again demonstrated their ability to respond to emergency events, at a moments notice.

“In addition to the superior response demonstrated by our Paramedic staff across the Territory in response to these events, we value the vital resource we have in our Volunteers” said Ross Coburn, Chief Executive Officer, St John Ambulance NT. “We are immensely grateful for the support of our Volunteers during emergency events that require a large scale response. It is times like these when the community really does benefit from their skills and experience in the provision of First Aid. The com munity support from employers of volunteers was fantastic, allowing our volunteers to be released to assist at such short notice was greatly appreciated”.

St John Ambulance NT staff and volunteers reflecting on the two incidents, have recognised the significant impact of members of the general public and staff from near by businesses, who were able to administer First Aid prior to the arrival of ambulance services. St John Ambulance is grateful for the First Aid assistance provided by those people who were first on the scene at each of these emergency events and encourages more and more people to develop or update their First Aid skills.

“Accidents can happen anywhere, whether it's in the workplace, at home, school, or on holidays”, said Annetta Albanese, Deputy Manager, Education and Training Services, St John Ambulance NT. “You may be the first person on the scene of an accident or see someone in need of medical attention. First  Aid Training is vital to ensuring you have the skills and confidence to assist until the arrival of an ambulance. You never know when you might be called on to save a life”.

St John Ambulance NT Paramedics and Volunteers pulled together to attend to the 19 injured passengers on board the bus that rolled over on the Stuart Highway last week. Injured passengers were treated by Paramedics from Tennant Creek, with back up paramedical support provided by Alice Springs. The St John Ambulance Contract Paramedic located at Bootu Creek Mine site, was also activated as part of the Mines Emergency Response Team (ERT) to assist. In addition, Volunteers from Tennant Creek quickly answered the call to duty and attended the scene.

“On arrival at the scene St John Ambulance staff and volunteers were met with a very difficult situation as the patients were spread over some 400 meters”, said Kevin Blake, St John Ambulance NT Operations Manager, Southern Region. “All those involved should be commended for their ability to pull together the resources needed in such a short time to respond to an incident of this scale in such a short period of time and in such a remote area.”

This event was not unlike the response quickly coordinated following the explosion at the TIO premises earlier this month. 5 St John  Ambulances attended the scene with additional teams activated at a moment’s notice to assist with the emergency. St John Ambulance NT were attending to 5 other call outs simultaneously to this event, demonstrating their dedication to assisting community in times of great need.

Media Contact: Cheryl Martin - 0408 809 368 – This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it