St John creating partnerships with emergency services community

 

BY JULIA WADE

Two local indispensable community services are forging a closer partnership to the benefit of surf beach visitors, beginning with a gift of medical equipment worth more than $5000. 

St John Bream Bay Area Committee have donated an automated external defibrillator (AED), oxygen resuscitation kit and scoop stretcher to Mangawhai Heads Volunteer Lifeguard Service (MHVLS).

Donating the equipment to surf life savers was a no-brainer says St John Mangawhai station manager, Andrew Mumford.

“It’s great to support our local surf life saving club with the gear they need to provide such an essential service, particularly at this time of year,” he says. “When we became aware of their need for additional medical equipment, directing funds raised through our local St John shop to this project was an easy decision to make.” 

MHVLS president Jon Drucker says the equipment, received officially on January 19, will boost the club’s emergency response by outfitting its response vehicle.

“We at MHVLS are very appreciative of efforts Andrew and the team at St John have made on our behalf,” he says. “With this equipment, we have greater potential to respond to incidents beyond Mangawhai Heads beach, strengthening our first response capability in our community.” 

December and January are the busiest months for both emergency services. To date St John has responded to over 100 incidents in the Mangawhai response area, with the majority of callouts being falls and traumatic injuries, with several involving activities in or around the water.
Although conditions at the beach have been relatively mild so far this summer, lifeguards have still made hundreds of preventative contacts and a handful of rescues, as well as performing many minor, and a few serious, first aids. 

The organisation promotes a preventative approach to lifeguarding, by encouraging visitors to not overestimate their abilities if swimming outside patrolling hours, and to swim between the flags when patrols are on. Lifeguards will be out patrolling at the Heads beach each day through January, and every weekend until Easter, April 22. 

Coincidentally, on the same day the new resuscitation equipment was delivered, St John and Surf Life Saving Northern Region also began a pilot initiative to co-respond to incidents in the immediate vicinity of patrolled beaches. This new approach ensures surf lifeguards are aware of incidents in their own back yard, providing a direct line of communication between the two services.

“This is just another example of how the local first responder communities can come together in the best interests of our patients,” Mumford says. 
In September 2018, St John released its five year plan based on the key aims of improving the quality and equity of its services, building resilient communities, and partnering to do what’s right for New Zealanders. Since then, the organisation has been collaborating with other emergency services in the local area to provide additional support where needed, including donating an AED to Mangawhai’s Community Patrol (MCP) in early December 2018. 

MCP’s coordinator, Wayne Price, says he is planning for members to receive full training regarding the device, from St John.

“It will be in the car and available but I hope we never have to use it,” he says. “However with Mangawhai’s aging population, and it seems everybody from Auckland is retiring here, I suspect our machine will be called on sooner or later. If it saves one person’s life, it will be worth it.”

 Vital services rely on the generosity of volunteers. If interested in volunteering for St John or Surf Life Saving, please contact Andrew Mumford on 021 689 587 (St John) or Jon Drucker on 021 153 6814 (Surf Life Saving). 

St John Mangawhai station manager Andrew Mumford and first responder Teneille Paul hand over vital equipment to MHVLS instructor Jess Costello and president Jon Drucker. 

Mangawhai Community Patrol co-ordinator Wayne Price receiving a portable AED from St John’s Andrew Mumford.  

“This is just another example of how the local first responder communities can come together in the best interests of our patients.”
- Andrew Mumford, St John