St John WA brings home prestigious award for commitment to workplace flexibility
St John WA (SJWA) is bringing home a trophy after The Council of Ambulance Authorities (CAA) announced the winners of the 2024 Awards for Excellence and Star Award, celebrating significant achievements and innovations in ambulance services throughout Australasia.
SJWA won the award for Excellence in Mental Health and Wellbeing for the organisation’s Inclusive Flexible Workplace Arrangements (FWA) to Support Work-life Balance in Ambulance initiative.
Other SJWA initiatives were also finalists for this year’s awards including:
- Total Solar Eclipse 2023 – Finalist for Excellence in Leadership.
- State Obstetric Referral Call – STORC. Midwives join frontline ambulance crews to improve maternity care for women and their families – Finalist for Excellence in Patient Care.
- Low Acuity Response Medic pathway to Paramedic – Finalist for Excellence in Staff Development.
The awards ceremony took place during the Awards for Excellence Gala Dinner on August 15, 2024, as part of the annual CAA Congress at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.
This year marked 12 months of SJWA operating with an optional eight-hour shift pattern to provide flexible workplace arrangements for its emergency ambulance team members.
This initiative was designed to help team members balance commitments while maintaining clinical competencies.
Since its introduction, the program has successfully increased resources during peak times, retained valued paramedics, and improved wellbeing of team members.
The implementation included dedicated resources, process reviews, and the introduction of maternity uniforms, lactation rooms, and Keeping in Touch Days.
SJWA identified workforce challenges before the pandemic, noting that long shift hours and inflexible schedules were causing clinical officers to leave, especially those with family or caring commitments.
Experienced paramedics often broke their career paths and lost clinical confidence, impacting SJWA’s community response and mentor availability for student paramedics.
The new approach, unlike previous rigid part-time or job-share arrangements, has led to increased support, engagement, and retention among staff, benefiting both the workforce and the community.
SJWA Chief Emergency Officer Brendon Brodie-Hall said the award highlighted the dedication of St John WA to providing flexible workplace options for its valued team members.
“I am very proud of the work that has gone into these initiatives which benefit our workforce – and the community as a whole,” he said.
“Our commitment to our people doesn’t end here. We will continue to build on this and ensure the continued wellbeing of every St John WA team member.”
David Waters, Chief Executive of The Council of Ambulance Authorities (CAA), expressed his gratitude and admiration for the winners and entrants of the Awards for Excellence.
“We are thrilled to recognise the outstanding achievements of all our entrants and winners in this year’s Awards for Excellence,” he said.
“The level of innovation, dedication, and commitment to improving ambulance services demonstrated by each participant has been truly inspiring.
“To our winners, congratulations on your well-deserved recognition and to all who entered, your contributions are invaluable in driving our industry forward.”
The CAA Awards for Excellence, now in their 17th year, continue to play a crucial role in encouraging innovation and enabling services to share their work and learn from each other.
The awards cover a wide range of areas, from technological advancements to mental health initiatives, reflecting the diverse challenges and opportunities in modern ambulance services.
SJWA presenters take to the stage at the 2024 CAA Congress
Several SJWA team members appeared as speakers and presenters at the 2024 CAA Congress, including Chief Emergency Officer Brendon Brodie-Hall, Medical Director Gayle Christie and Metro Operations Manager Stephanie Wraight.
Brendon’s keynote was titled, Mining to Ambulance, and he explored the challenges and successes of his journey from leadership at Rio Tinto to his current role at SJWA.
Gayle’s keynote titled, No NEWS is not good News, addressed the need to support a younger workforce and implement tools to better recognise and respond to deteriorating patients, including the NEWS2 score.
Stephanie’s presentation was titled, The Paramedic Response to Error: An Approach in Paramedic Education.
She spoke about SJWA’s efforts to transform paramedic education around errors and foster open communication, shared learning, and vulnerability.
Posters in the spotlight
SJWA also had six posters accepted for presentation at the CAA Congress this year. All six posters can be found below.
Congratulations to the team members who conducted research, analysed data, and designed these beautiful posters for display.
The full list of 2024 CAA posters can be found on the CAA poster page.
For more information about the CAA Awards for Excellence and this year’s winners, go to caa.net.au/awards
