St John WA releases 2020 Impact Report

St John WA’s inaugural Impact Report has revealed the important part the organisation plays in the lives of all West Australians. Our community was tested during 2019-2020 with significant bushfire activity and the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout all of this, St John WA has been there for the community; supporting them, being there in times of need and building resilience.

Through the support of 16,747 staff and volunteers, St John WA provided exceptional pre-hospital services through the provision of emergency ambulance, community and patient transfer, event health services, youth engagement, first aid and primary health.

St John Chief Executive Officer Michelle Fyfe said 2020 saw our people involved in an extraordinary year of challenges and reflected on the true meaning of community.

“During the COVID-19 pandemic, St John WA worked with the State Health Incident Command Centre (SHICC) to provide specialist medical assistance with frontline staff and volunteers transporting critically ill patients to hospital and potential COVID-19 passengers to locations of isolation.  This assistance is ongoing.

“The State Operations Centre also utilised their expertise to adapt quickly to the wave of new COVID-19-centred queries, responding to safety questions.

“The centre received 305,900 Triple Zero (000) calls, a 10 per cent increase on the previous financial year.”

Ms. Fyfe said before COVID-19, Australia faced a crisis of another kind.  A catastrophic fire season that burned hot and furious for weeks, blackening millions of hectares of land.

“Significant bushfires broke out in locations as diverse as Yanchep, north of Perth, Collie to the south east, Mogumber in the Wheatbelt, the Stirling Ranges on the eastern escarpment, and Norseman north east of Perth.

“Many St John WA staff and volunteers were deployed to the bushfire fronts in case medical support was required,” she said.

“Special Operations paramedics were deployed to work from the Department of Fire and Emergency Services Dauphin RAC Rescue Helicopter, delivering aerial fire ground retrieval.  St John’s country paramedics and volunteers provided medical support onsite and transported prescriptions to stranded travellers.”

“Some of our Special Operations paramedics were mobilised as part of Australian Medical Assistance Teams (AUSMAT) operations to assist with the New South Wales bushfires. We also supported Victoria when it was in the deepest trench of its pandemic response.”

Ms. Fyfe said St John’s motto ’for the service of humanity‘, revealed a significant impact on our State which included:

• In total, 1,694 calls were identified as potentially COVID-19-related with an ambulance called for 19 patients and 12 making their own way to a COVID-19 testing clinic.
• There were 100,000 moments of crisis supported by emergency critical care.
• St John WA Critical Care paramedics completing 1,002 missions aboard the RAC helicopter, a 38.6 percent increase on the previous year.
• 26,609 registered first responders and 4,883 community accessible defibrillators located across the State.
• In partnership with Lotterywest, 525 public access defibrillators were installed in 2019/20 at community venues, sporting clubs and not-for-profit facilities across WA.
• 434 First Responder app incidents were accepted in 2019/20.Publicly accessible defibrillator locations were used on 101 occasions. 408,292 Western Australians receiving first aid training (much of which was a charitable contribution for free first aid training in schools).
• Total Ambulance cases in Metro were 191,958 and in Country 68,999.
• St John provided inter-hospital transport in 2019/20 to 77,072 metropolitan patients and 25,195 country patients. Community transport was provided to 33,991 people.

“St John WA has earned a reputation as the best value provider of pre-hospital care in the country.

“We will continue to develop programs and services to improve outcomes for patients and build stronger, more resilient communities “ Ms. Fyfe said.

To read the Impact Report in full please click here.