The Priory of England and The Islands

Who we are 

At St John Ambulance, our vision is:
Everyone who needs it should receive first aid from those around them. No one should suffer for the lack of trained first aiders.

Our mission is:

  • To provide an effective and efficient charitable first aid service to local communities;
  • To provide training and products to satisfy first aid and related health and safety needs for all of society;
  • To encourage personal development for people of all ages, through training and by membership of our organisation.


St John Ambulance people:

  • provide care to those who need it
  • put the needs of others first
  • show commitment to those around them through the depth and range of their skills
  • welcome and value those who offer their talents and time for the service of others
  • work for, with and in the community
  • respect the trust placed upon them
  • encourage and bring out the best in each other
  • deliver what they promise.

What we do 

We have over 45,000 volunteers committed to caring and saving lives and every year our volunteers treat around 130,000 casualties. We've been providing first aid cover at major public events since Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee and we support many high profile national and local events. Without our presence many of these events could not take place.

We provide support to the statutory services, especially in times of emergency. In addition to this we have a number of community support programmes which give vital assistance to some of the most vulnerable people in society such as the homeless and the elderly. We have a range of volunteering opportunities – from our Community First Responder scheme to our bathing service – all of which make an immediate and real difference in the community.

We are the market leader in first aid training for the workplace and train up to half a million people per year in first aid. We run around 16,500 formal courses each year at over 230 venues in England and regularly update our training courses and ensure that they reflect the latest medical thinking and education practice.