St John volunteers give freely of their time
HUNDREDS of essential deliveries have been carried out by volunteers from the St John Ambulance Guernsey charity, as well as more than 200 hours of cleaning frontline ambulances.
Covid response services were introduced during the first wave of the pandemic last year and have been carrying on quietly in the background ever since.
When the latest lockdown was announced, the demand for the services shot up once again.
Since 23 January, St John volunteers have collected and delivered 161 prescriptions for people who were isolating or unable to get out.
Some 65 lots of essential supplies have also been delivered for people who could not get to the shops and did not have family to help.
Just over 60 journeys have been made by volunteer drivers to get people to and from the community vaccination centre.
The decontamination team, which is also made up of volunteers, has deep-cleaned front line emergency ambulances 54 times – more than in the whole of the first lockdown.
The cleaning process is carried out after every case involving a patient with potential Covid symptoms.
It involves all of the equipment being removed and cleaned and all of the surfaces being wiped down and mopped.
On one particularly busy day, volunteers did 15 ambulance cleans in a 24-hour period.
Chief ambulance officer Mark Mapp was extremely grateful to the volunteers on the decontamination team.
‘The cleaning of ambulances is normally done by the crews, but they have not had time due to the periods of high demand and the length of time needed to completely clean an ambulance, which can be between one and two hours.’
Having the decontamination team at the station means front line clinicians can respond in another vehicle.
‘On busy days, having the volunteers here has allowed crews to get a quick cup of tea or a meal break, which otherwise they would not have had time to do,’ he said.
Chief executive officer Nikki Harrison thanked all volunteers who have helped St John to provide essential services during the second lockdown, particularly those who had no connection with St John in the past but have stepped forward to support the organisation.
‘We are so grateful to the businesses that have come forward to offer us support, with staff volunteering and financially.
‘This has been a great example of our community coming together.’
St John Ambulance Guernsey will continue to provide the delivery service, the transport scheme, the Caring Caller line and decontamination team for as long as is necessary.
. Anyone wishing to donate to the St John Ambulance Guernsey charity can do so via giving.gg, https://bit.ly/3joW8XF
