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St John need YOU!

St John Ambulance Albany volunteer advanced ambulance officers Bryn Gladwin and Alara Woods at the station. Picture: Toyah Shakespeare

St John Ambulance Albany is looking for volunteers, with the station having the largest recruitment problem in the Great Southern.

Manager David Schober said St John had 45 dedicated volunteers but ideally would have 70 to support the seven paramedics.

“Albany has the biggest recruitment issue of ambulance volunteers in the Great Southern,” he said.

“Without volunteers, we can’t actually form a crew to respond with an ambulance.

“An effective roster would see us with about 70 volunteers.”

Mr Schober said St John needed about 10 volunteers a day over the three shifts as individuals were paired with paramedics.

He said volunteers received a comprehensive free training package.

“It doesn’t matter who you are or what you do — even if you only have a few hours to give a month,” he said.

Mr Schober said he had seen people in the role develop personally, experiencing situations unlikely to occur in their everyday jobs.

Alara Woods, 21, joined St John Ambulance Albany six months ago and is now a volunteer advanced ambulance officer.

“I had no idea what to do in the future and was thinking about medicine, so I thought I’d try something out in that field,” she said.

“I’ve really enjoyed it, it’s really rewarding.”

Volunteer advanced ambulance officer Bryn Gladwin started at St John 12 years ago at the Mt Barker station and said while the work could be challenging, support was available.

“The friendships are good because they’re made under quite extreme pressures,” he said.

For more information, call St John Ambulance Albany on 9841 4212.

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