FIRST-AID EFFICIENCY.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVII, Issue 208, 3 August 1937, Page 7

FIRST-AID EFFICIENCY.

FOR SPRINGBOK MATCH. AMBULANCE TEAM TO-MORROW. TEN MEN APPOINTED. Prominent on the playing fields of the Manawntu during this and former seasons, the Palmerston North unit of the St. John Ambulance Division, under the direction of the divisional superintendent, Mr A. Holmes, has made complete arrangements for the Springbok match at this centre tomorrow. Ten men have been detailed for duty under Ambulance Officer E. Sherry and a first-aid post will be established to deal with minor cases. Four men will be available to attend to any cases of injury on the pla3’ing field, anil six, in patrols of pairs, will be there for emergency duty among the large crowd of spectators. Every Saturday, and on many other days when public functions take place, certain, members of the local division of St. John Ambulance Brigades are asked to give up their leisure hours and be in attendance at the grounds where games are being played, ready to render first-aid to the injured. A record is kept of all public duties performed by the members of the division, and a perusal of the local records for the past twelve months shows that a total of 462 duties were performed for the benefit of the public. First-aid treatment was rendered to 572 persons, of whom 300 were injured on the football fields, and the balance of 272 were treated at other public functions and sports meetings. Being one of the greatest voluntary institutions in the world, the St. John Ambulance Brigade, despite the extensive calls made upon it. permits none of its members to accept remuneration for his services. There has been a definite plan of action formulated in the event of any disaster happening in Palmerston North, with large buddings, larger crowds assembling, and a population of well over 20,000. The strength of the ambulance division in this centre at present is only 22, and recruits are urgently required if this good work is to be carried on in the playing fields and wherever accidents are likely to happen. One point that is not fully realised by the public is that any person who has received training in the St. John Ambulance Brigade is a public benefactor, in as much as he or she has been trained to render firstaid wherever they may be. Appreciation is expressed by the division of the grants made to its funds and the assistance received from the Manawatu Rugby Union and the hockey organisations, also for the allocation made by the Mayor under the Nuffield Gift Scheme. The division, considering that with a larger membership the monetary position will adjust itself, is appealing for more recruits. Beyond the amount received from members’ annual subscriptions, which go towards defraying incidental expenses within the division, it is wholly dependent on funds contributed by the public to maintain the necessary supplies for first-aid and equipment.