First aid tick for construction work on METRONET

• St John WA first aid clinicians conducted drills with METRONET construction workers building the state’s new rail projects,
• The first aid drills from November to January tested the emergency response knowledge and skills of NEWest and Evolve Bayswater alliance workers,
• The drills involved two emergency scenarios with exceptional first aid responses from the project teams.

Construction workers on METRONET projects have been given the skills and knowledge to respond to a health emergency thanks to first aid drills run by St John WA as part of its work with Evolve Bayswater and NEWest alliances.

Workers took part in the drills which ran from November to January to test their emergency response knowledge and skills in a variety of circumstances.

The new Bayswater Station drill on January 4 involved two simulated emergency scenarios, such as CPR in a cardiac arrest situation, with the project team applying first aid training at every step to ensure safety for everyone on site.

The train lines and stations remain under construction, with the NEWest Alliance responsible for the Thornlie-Cockburn Link and the Yanchep Rail Extension, and Evolve Bayswater Alliance building the new Bayswater Station to connect the Midland, Airport and future Morley-Ellenbrook lines.

St John receives almost 290,000 emergency Triple Zero (000) calls a year of which a small but significant fraction are out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients, whose chance of survival is greatly improved through bystander CPR in the first five minutes.

St John WA Executive Director Aaron Crowther said the work with Evolve Bayswater and NEWest alliances showed the important role first aid has in every workplace.

“St John is committed to getting first aid skills in the hands of as many people as possible. Even with an uplift of almost 40 per cent in the last year, we want to see the resilience of the community further strengthened,” Mr Crowther said.

“This is why it’s so pleasing to see events like this take place, where we know St John is helping establish this confidence and capability. NEWest and Evolve Bayswater should be commended and our ask at St John is for other businesses is to put themselves to the test,” Mr Crowther said.

Organisations can sign up for a free onsite St John Safe assessment which will evaluate appropriate training requirements, equipment, supplies, facilities and recommend processes to deal with an emergency