Australia’s first St John Ambulance group was formed in Melbourne 1883 and the non-profit organisation is now the nation’s leading provider of first aid training, first aid services at public events and a supplier of first aid kits and equipment.
t John Ambulance also delivers community services and youth development programs including its Cadet Divisions for young people aged eight to 17 years and its Community Cares programs which support hundreds of volunteers to care for others.
In 2012, St John Ambulance set a target to have at least one person educated, equipped and prepared to provide first aid in every home, workplace and public gathering. With the average response time from an ambulance being nine to 14 minutes in metropolitan Melbourne, first aid can literally make the difference between life and death.
For example, it is not widely known that after Melbourne identity Ian ‘Molly’ Meldrum fell from the roof of his home in late 2011, his maintenance man sprang to action and had Molly breathing again within two minutes. Without this intervention Molly may not have survived.