St John Ambulance Society

Sorry, i hope you dont mind but a few more questions have popped into my head!

What does the training involve? How long does it take?
Are there any expenses for you for things like uniform etc?
Is it common to be dealing with serious injuries or is it mainly cuts, bruises etc?

Thank you!

Hey! No it's absolutely fine!

I don't know about TFA because it wasn't around when I qualified! I'm almost certain i'm going to miss things out and i'm not sure if it's changed at all! I'll list AFA (advanced first aider) and PTA as well as you up your skills a considerable amount with these levels

Ah just found my booklet of units .. this is helpful!

FA; abdominal pain, AED, anaphylaxis, communication and casualty care, primary surveys, resuscitation of all ages, asthma, bites and stings, bleeding and bruising (minor and major), bone, muscle and joint injuries, burns and scalds (minor and major), outdoor casualty management, chest pain, childhood conditions (meningitis recognition), choking (all ages), documentation, confidentiality, consent and capacity, eye injuries, fainting, foreign objects, head injuries, health and safety, temperature extremes, infection control, low blood sugar, poisons, risk assessments, secondary surveys, seizures, shock, spinal injuries (without equipment), sprains and strains, stroke, structure and policies.

It seems like a lot but it's very digestible! Let me know if you have any questions on that bunch! :L And if you decide to go on ..

AFA; Body temperature, blood pressure (manually and electronically), use of splints, medical gases (oxygen, entonox), moving and handling (ambulance trolleys, carry chairs/wheelchairs, carry sheets, folding stretcher), patient care positioning, removing crash helmets, spinal immobilisation using collars.

PTA; Ambulance skills (hygiene, contact with bodily fluids, deceased patients), assisting the HCP, bariatric casualties, consent and mental capacity acts, malnutrition and dehydration, child protection, premature babies ad incubators, full resuscitation with bag valve mask, transporting patients (carrying someone down 4 flights of stairs in a carry chair .. boo!), orthopaedic stretcher, vehicle inspection and documentation.

You don't learn heaps of new skills as you advance but you gain a hell of a lot of responsibility within duties! Training for each course usually takes 2/3 days however you're constantly refreshing and practising at your units

Nope, no expenses as far as I recall! Uniform is supplied by SJA. I bought my boots but I think they've started paying for those too these days! :L

It really depends on your duties. Two of my experiences.

1. School fete .. zero casualties in 6 hours.

2. Bonfire duty (in charge of treatment centre .. aka drunk tank! :L) 7 casualties at one point, all heavily intoxicated. All kinds of problems from cuts from falling over to hypothermia, low oxygen saturation, unconscious, impaired airways.

So yeah, really depends on the kind of duty you get involved with

Hope this helps! x

Thank you so do you get trained at the centre near you or do you have to go away somewhere? is there a group of you all getting trained at once?

Did you find you were eased into it all gently enough or do you ever feel like you are being thrown in at the deep end?

It's usually as close to you as possible. I had to travel an hour on the train but it's still relatively close Yes, you will be in a group of people from different units; some may be from your specific unit so will meet people

I attended meetings for six months before I did my training so I had already been taught the course virtually so yes, eased in gently One time I was thrown in the deep end was my first duty having qualified as a PTA. I was put in charge of our busiest treatment centre with 3 under 18's. It basically happened due to a last minute sickness phone call. I felt hugely under pressure. Not only was I concerned for the welfare and treatment of our casualties but I also had to ensure the safety of my colleagues who were largely inexperienced at such a duty. One of our patients was high on drugs; very violent, confused but also injured. I couldn't allow a 16/17yr old treat such a patient, however, other patients required my skills such as administering oxygen etc. You're taught to recognise when you're out of your depth though so it's easy to ask for back up

Hi! i've been a St John Ambulance volunteer for nearly 2 1/2 years in South Wales. Just been accepted for a Child Nursing course too! x

Might be a stupid question, but I'm just filling out my Health Declaration Form for the SJA application and I don't think I've had a BCG jab. Can I just put 'no' or should I go and get it done (trying to avoid being stabbed by a needle here ).

Just put no and you shouldn't need to have one done (it does cost a fair bit). You may be able to get a free one later on with SJA.

Our division just spent around £10k on a new a set of digital radios, which is all good. Apart from the fact that out of 50 people only 2 people can use them after the radio course. :/ Time to read the instructions.

interesting statement on a number of basis.
Assuming (mainland) PoE+I :
1. Divisions would no longer be purchasing radios under current procurement rules

2. SJA radio licences do not cover 'digital' modes. (except as a secondary user of NHS sponsored Airwave)

3.I strongly suspect that the RM logistics and RRCO would not release radios to use without proper training.

<snip>
3) I'm not sure what you're suggesting?

I can take a picture if you'd like? Haha Although I'm not really sure what your point is, are you insinuating that I'm lying?

my point is that as the Commandery of Ards , even as part of PoE+I pre-mainland regionalisation did their own thing on a lot of things , it;'s important that people point out where they are posting in respect of

SJABofI , SJCW and the Commandery of Ards which within TSRs core remit are seperate from PoE+I as a whole - even if the commandery of Ards is technically part of PoE+I .... the other 'Islands' in PoE+I have stuck closer to PoE+I policy and where there is variation the respective individuals have been clear to point out why.

Hi, I'm a member of St John Ambulance in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

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