Disaster Preparedness
While the Order of St John does not consider itself as an emergency response organisation, the ability to provide First Aid is certainly the most valuable of skills during any disaster. The Order believes that equipping volunteers and the general public with the knowledge of first aid is the most effective way to save lives.
Many St John organisations have developed very effective emergency services. In Canada, St John Ambulance plays a vital role in the critical areas of emergency preparedness and response across the country. When a natural or human disaster strikes, St John Ambulance volunteer Medical First Responders are there with advanced first aid and life-saving skills, experience and leadership within 72 hours.
The volunteers are trained to provide:
- health care and first aid services in reception centers
- casualty care at the scene of the event
- transportation of ill, injured, infirm to reception or medical facilities
- evacuation
- elderly and child care.
The St John Priory of Canada has also been supporting St John Sri Lanka through a disaster management training programme which aims to provide the organisation with skills and knowledge in disaster planning and creating disaster management systems in Sri Lanka.
As well as this, following the Asian tsunami in 2004 it also became clear that forward planning and preparation for disasters combined with the skills of St John volunteers would be hugely beneficial to St John organisations in such extreme circumstances.
Sri Lanka was devastated by the tsunami and St John Sri Lanka were hugely active in providing care to the thousands of casualties. Within hours of the tsunami occurring, hundreds of St John volunteers had gathered at the National Headquarters in Colombo, ready to help the affected areas to provide first aid, remove casualties to the hospitals and safe places and help government authorities in setting up refugee camps. Ambulances were dispatched to provide transportation to casualties as well as move volunteers to the worst affected areas.
The Order of St John’s sister organisation in Germany, Johanniter is a specialist in disaster preparedness and has been supporting many St John organisations in their planning and preparation. The Johanniter worked closely with St John Sri Lanka in the delivery of relief and emergency assistance, particularly medical assistance and water supplies.