A DESPERATE shortage of new volunteers at the Okehampton division of St John Ambulance could lead to a crisis in first aid provision for events in the area, it was warned this week.
Dot Kaines, superintendent of Okehampton St John Ambulance, said the increasing number of events which now require first aid cover meant the local division run and organised by a small group of volunteers was reaching a ?critical? situation.
The organisation is short of members to undertake St John duties at community events and sports matches, especially since recently taken on responsibility for providing first aid cover for rugby matches in Okehampton.
Mrs Kaines said quite a few clubs were finding that their insurers were now insisting that they organise first aid at events, which was leading to an increased demand for St John Ambulance volunteers.
On a busy weekend, the division might have two duties each day on a Saturday and Sunday, and Mrs Kaines said it was becoming increasing difficult to ensure a presence at all of the events.
She said unless the volunteer situation improved, difficulties would escalate. ?It will mean that the events won?t be covered for first aid at all, or people will have to come in from further afield. That isn?t fair on other St John divisions which have their own events to cover, or organisers will have to get private first aid cover, which is very expensive.?
Mrs Kaines said the problem was not unique to Okehampton or to St John Ambulance branches: ?Last weekend, we did a duty for Holsworthy because they couldn?t cover all the events in the area, which meant travelling all the way to Bude.?
She said unfortunately the pace of life these days meant many people didn?t feel able to give time to voluntary work.
She said members of the public saw the familiar uniform of St John Ambulance members at sporting events or concerts and mistakenly took it for granted they were paid for their work.
?So many people think we actually get paid for being out. People have the wrong perception about us,? she added.
Mrs Kaines said the money which clubs and organisations pay for first aid and medical support cover goes into St John Ambulance maintenance and equipment costs, with all members being volunteers.
Among the local events the division provides cover for are Okehampton and Chagford Shows, Okehampton Carnival, the Ten Tors, Dartmoor Folk Festival, the Sticklepath Fireshow, special events at Castle Drogo and a wide variety of horse-riding and sporting events.
The branch meets in Mill Road, Okehampton every Wednesday night, and has a youth section, but more young people are needed to come through to form the next generation of the St John Ambulance movement.
St John Ambulance in Okehampton say they are keen to encourage youngsters to consider bolstering the youth section of the organisation and training as cadets. The cadets are open to those aged 10-18 years, the unit also had also run it?s own badgers group for five to nine years old, up until about a year ago, as well as youngsters coming through.
Mrs Kaines said there was also a crisis in the number of adult members. The division has around ten adult members registered, although Mrs Kaines said perhaps only a half of those are regularly available.
She said she had been involved with St John Ambulance for 12 years, previously in Berkshire before moving to Devon three years ago. However, she said many members had been involved with the organisation for much longer than she had, and there was concern about where the next generation of volunteers coming through were going to come from.
Mrs Kaines said the sort of volunteers Okehampton St John Ambulance were looking for were: ?Anybody who will be able to give their time. It doesn?t have to be every week, if it is once a fortnight that would be a help.?