Dedicated teams nab St John WA Sub Centre and Division of the Year awards 

Karratha Sub Centre and Event Health Services (EHS) Morley Division have claimed the top gongs at the St John Experience awards ceremony. 

The prestigious annual awards held on August 8, honoured the remarkable achievements of a St John WA sub centre and division from across WA. 

Karratha was named Sub Centre of the Year in recognition of the team’s impressive growth and outstanding service to the Pilbara community. 

Kununoppin Sub Centre and Morangup Sub Centre were recognised as finalists for their teams’ dedication to communities across WA’s Wheatbelt.  

Morley came out on top in the Division of the Year category after building a reputation as a high-performing and dependable team. 

First Aid Awareness Central Division and EHS Stirling Division also impressed as finalists. 

SJWA has volunteer operation centres across WA, with 15 metropolitan volunteer hubs known as Divisions across the Perth and Peel regions. 

Sub Centre of the Year – Karratha  

Karratha Sub Centre continues to go from strength to strength thanks to the team’s commitment to bettering themselves and their community.  

Volunteer numbers rose to 60 in the past year, with engagement hitting about 90 per cent thanks to each volunteer attending at least one shift a month.  

The sub centre has big ambitions for the future, setting goals to improve its performance each year, with every team member invested in making the depot a success. 

Everyone is welcome at the sub centre, with the team striving to create a fun and nurturing environment where it is a safe place to learn, share ideas and make lifelong friendships. 

The depot has been particularly focused on increasing volunteers’ confidence so it can more regularly provide a second volunteer crew on shifts.  

The team is embracing new ways to upskill such as adapting its “observer” role on road into an active learning position where volunteers can attend to patients with supervision. 

The initiative has been embraced by all volunteer scopes and resulted in more than 75 per cent of shifts running with a paramedic and two volunteers.  

As the team gains skills and confidence, it has been able to help with coverage in surrounding towns including Wickham, Hedland and Onslow. 

The team regularly donate their time to help other community organisations such as the Broome Police Legacy Bike Ride and Robe River Rodeo in Pannawonica. 

A driving force behind the sub centre’s success has been its Volunteer Leadership Group.  

The group is passionate about finding new ways to bring volunteers together to celebrate their wins and listen to feedback to improve volunteers’ experience. 

Depot dinners are a weekly occurrence, with the team coming together throughout the year for bingo nights, golf and lawn bowls and awards celebrations. 

Division of the Year – Morley 

With a strong culture of inclusivity and collaboration, supported by a dynamic leadership team, Morley is a standout EHS division. 

Morley consistently achieves high participation figures with the team always happy to step up to fill shifts and responsibilities at community events.  

Other divisions look to Morley for advice on how to enhance member engagement and improve training, with the leadership team always happy to assist.  

Leaders go above and beyond to keep their members engaged, well trained and supported while meeting targets. 

This includes hosting regular simulation training nights to practice clinical skills and event coverage. 

The division has a culture of continuous improvement with leaders regularly surveying volunteers to find ways to make it better for all. 

Morley provides a safe and open forum for discussion around issues which impact patient care and the volunteer experience. 

The team aren’t afraid to try new things and regularly attend EHS leadership meetings to share their findings and suggest ways to improve the service for all. 

To volunteer visit St John Change Lives.