Volunteering with us

St John Ambulance members are volunteers. There are many advantages to volunteering with us including gaining new lifesaving skills, making new friends, various social events, new challenges and personal development.

At Wellington adult division we are very active in providing first aid and ambulance aid at public events, we also have regular training and social activities. Whilst we always provide a professional service we also always have lots of fun in all we do.

Meetings

Adult volunteers (aged 16+) meet every Tuesday evening at our headquarters in Victoria Street, Wellington TA21 8HR from 7.30pm to 9.30pm. At these meetings we discuss any upcoming events and public duties as well as any issues or projects that we may have over tea and coffee. The main section of the meeting is our training. For younger people we have Badgers (aged 5-10) and Cadets (aged 10-18). 

Training

Our training is mainly practical based on first aid and ambulance skills. We also cover related subjects such as patient care, communication skills, handling techniques and rescue methods. We also run large field training exercises in real life environments. Our training is continuous so we know that we are always up to date with the latest regulations and procedures. Through this regular practice and experience treating patients at events our first aiders become very confident in first aid, giving them the skills needed to save lives and the confidence to act in an emergency. 

First aid duties

In order to put our training to good use, to help people and to support our community we provide first aid and ambulance cover at many public events. As a volunteer how often you attend these events is up to you and will depend on your personal circumstances. All new volunteers on duty receive full support and guidance from more experienced members. It is always deeply rewarding to use your skills to help someone feel better and/or prevent them from getting worse, from saving lives to washing out an eye.  

Equipment and ambulances

We use various items of equipment to deliver advanced first aid skills as well as the full range of ambulance equipment. As well as basic first aid kits we have specialist kits, such as oxygen with airways, masks, pulse oximetry, bag and mask for resuscitation and suction equipment. We also have a full range of fracture immobilisation equipment, including specialist equipment for spinal injuries and Entonox (gas and air) for pain relief. These are just a few examples of the equipment that our members can use to help patients, once they are trained. At Wellington we have a frontline ambulance, which we use for emergency response and transport to hospital and a 4x4 ambulance which is capable of rapidly responding to patients in difficult locations that a normal ambulance wouldn't be able to access. 

Joining process

If you are interested in volunteering with us please contact us by email or call 01823 661444 (answerphone). You are also welcome to come along to one of our meetings, however we do sometimes have meetings away from our HQ so if you contact us first then we'll be able to make sure we don't miss you.

When you attend a meeting you will be introduced to our members and shown around the building and ambulances, you will be welcome to take part in the training and activities

We will arrange a time for our county recruitment officer to come to meet you and work through the joining paperwork with you including a CRB (criminal records bureau) check.

When your basic first aid training is complete and your joining paperwork is processed your membership will be complete, you will then be able to attend public events as a first aider with us, with the support of another/other member(s).

We meet on Tuesday evenings from 7.30pm to 9.30pm at our HQ in Victoria Street, Wellington TA21 8HR.