St John appeal - time for Northlanders to donate
It's time for Northlanders to show their suport for St John to ensure they can be there for our communities.
The St John Annual Appeal 2012 starts next week and is a time for Northland people to show their support says Kerikeri resident and St John paramedic, Nick Scott.
"Many people don't realise St John is a charity. We are calling for donations now so that we can be there for you in Northland when you need us most. It's that simple," Mr Scott said.
The Appeal focuses on raising funds so St John can continue to provide the range of services it does, including; saving lives and taking very sick or critically injured people to hospital (St John Ambulance service), helping with first aid at events (St John Volunteers); improving the health and wellbeing of people in need (Caring Caller, Friends of the Emergency Department, jointly-run SPCA Outreach Therapy Pets) and teaching people what to do in an emergency and preparing them with vital life skills (First Aid Training, St John Safe Kids and Youth Cadets).
St John Northland District Operations Manager Tony Devanney said demand for ambulance services in the Northland area continued to grow.
Averaged over the past five years the number of ambulance call-outs in Northland has risen at 10 per cent per year, well above the 4.4 per cent national average.
St John staff and volunteers will also be out with collecting buckets throughout appeal week, or you can donate anytime by calling 0800 ST JOHN (0800 785 646), going online at www.stjohnappeal.org.nzor donating at any ASB branch.
Your donation makes a difference
St John Northern spends around $260,000 a month on medical consumables including medicines, and medical and trauma equipment.
| Donation | What St John can buy |
| $5 | Two packs of pain relief tablets |
| $10 | Six wound dressing packs |
| $15 | Box of 200 disposable gloves |
| $22 | A blood glucose meter (carried in every ambulance) |
| $28 | A disposable stiff neck support collar (St John uses around 400 a month) |
| $33 | 50 blood glucose test strips |
| $100 | Thermometer |
| $215 | Safety clothing including helmets - to protect officers helping treat patients trapped in difficult locations |
| $900 | A Portable radio |
| $2000 | A combi carrier stretcher |
| $5000 | A defibrillator |
| $34000 | A state of the art Philips MRx defibrillator. St John is committed to having one in every operational vehicle |
| $200000 | A fully equipped ambulance |
| $500000 | A major incident command vehicle - vital for coordinating major emergency responses such as the Christchurch earthquake |
