Putting funding where the problem is pays off

Funding for a dedicated volunteers recruitment officer has seen 38 people apply for volunteer work for Hauraki-Coromandel St John.

As volunteers become harder and harder to recruit and workload continues to increase in the Hauraki-Coromandel, a recent St John recruitment report from the area, shows that having a dedicated person employed to boost numbers has been well worth it.

Waikato District Health Board provided $50,000 funding to St John for the position over an 18-month period, with the volunteers recruitment officer finishing up on 30 June.

As a result of the position, St John district operations manager Bruce MacDonald said the recruitment target for St John volunteers was met or exceeded in Coromandel, Paeroa, Hahei/Cook's Beach and Pauanui among other towns.

"We are extremely thankful and appreciative to Waikato DHB for funding this initiative," said Mr MacDonald.

"To provide proper emergency care in the community, ambulance services must be adequately staffed. Ours is a rural funded district that relies on a large volunteer pool in order to provide a service.

"There are some stations that are unable to provide 24/7 cover because of low volunteer numbers, so an external feasibility study looked at the issues with recruitment and retention and recommended a dedicated person with the resource to commit to recruitment to build numbers."

Mr MacDonald said the most important elements to the recruitment campaign included the extra human resource as well as the use of the bright yellow national recruitment van and a media profile.

Areas where recruitment has not been successful are Matarangi and Tairua, which will become a priority for 2010's recruitment targets.

Mr MacDonald, who has been with St John for 33 years; six in the Hauraki-Coromandel area, said there are roles for most people within St John.

"However, our focus with this project has been on operations staff to crew our ambulances and attend public events," he said.

"In that regard, someone with the time, willingness and capability to qualify as an ambulance officer, and who has the fitness and desire to help people, is an ideal candidate."

If you would like to apply to become a St John volunteer, you should contact your nearest St John facility, or make contact via www.stjohn.co.nz or phone 0800 STJOHN.

Date: 17 February 2010

ENDS