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Jerusalem
Sight-saving Drops
Daoud Hasan (pictured giving d rops in treatment room ) has worked at The Hospitiil l for 47 years, cu r rently making him the IOlilgest serving staff member. He is a Practica l Nurse and has worked in al frour h ospi t al buildings since 1945. " I have been privileged tel see a gn;>at dea l of our history of this century," h e says " I have a huge improvement in the lives of the people here since development of the Hospital."
A Look Ba,ck on
West Bank The great major ty of h e people in the Holy wan peace and only small factions w sh to frustrate process; but there is a long road ahead The Hospital is n busy as it was before the closure of the green line and permanent clinic in Gaza, which the Lord Prior opened a ago, has added cons derab y to the overal l numbers treated
T he new clinic in Gaza has amply proved its worth In early days afte r its inception, there were cont i nual curfews blocks at the cros sing point. Since that time the clin c become steadi ly busier The Wa rden and were in Gaza on day that the accord was s gned and the enthusiasm of populace was most touching Successful though the Gaza cI is, the additiona l costs incurred by this venture are likel y amount to £200,000 per annum.
It remains d ifficult t o recruit s sters from the Un ited King d( and I hope that St. John nurses at home, part cularly those v an ophtha mic qualification, will consider coming t o worK
experience and a so prov des the opportunity to get to kno w Holy Land in a way that casual visitors never can
St. John is in the Holy Land to continue our h storic missi oI ministering to the poor and sick But we also bel eve that it the interest of the peop e whom we serve to train t heir YO t people in nu r sing, medica l ophthalmology and health (, Eighteen Pa estinian student nurses complete their the spring of next year and the Lord Prior will be giving their certificates at the Hospital in early May. All have b sponsored, for which I am very grateful. The Warden has p to train young Palestinian doctors in the essentials ophtha l mo logy provided that funding can be obtained.
There will be another organised tour of the Holy La n d, Jon an d the Opht h a l mic Hospi t a in 1994, which wi l fo ll ow usual lines from Apr l 29 to May 9. T h e Lord Prior wi l holo .Invest ture in the Hospital on Sunday May 8. Brochure s
Quick on the Draw
On 28 October, 30 peopl e from all ove r th e co untry gat hered at NHQ to w itn e s th e yea rl y Grand Raffle dr aw. Th e eve nt coi nc id ed wi th th e 1993 PR Conference and hence variou s PRO s were ab le to participate by drawin g o ut win nin g tickets The lu cky winners of the top three pri zes were: Mr Jim Tyler of Stoke, Plymouth who won th e P&O Cruise Ct cket no. 209667), Mrs M Jordan of London w ho won the Fiat Uno Sian and Mr N Morga n of Gwynedd who won three l arge De sey Pilot case. Congratul at i ons to them all and to tho se Divi s o ns and Co un ties w hi ch so ld ti c kets.. th e Raffle raised a g rand tot al of £ 166,263! Pi c/urecl Ri g hi - Li : Poris CO lln/, AdminislwlOr./or Warwickshire pulls 0/ ;/ /he 5 1h pri:e winner's lick e/, (fhl\' assisled hy Bertie Budger.
andsman Dies at Sf. John Parade
Stunned onlookers watched a a bandsman co ll ap ed and died during an annual St. John Ambulance Parade B ass drummer HmT ) Suffell. collapsed and lat er died as he \'\ as playing with the Ring wood Pip e Band at th e Sr. John Ambu ance Par ade in ew Milton. Hamp shire.
Mr Suffell had just waved at wife as he passed the sa lutin g. base when he put his hand to his forehead and suddenh col ap ed.
TERMINOLOGY
Asphyxia - Thi s s th e m edi ca l te rm f o r suffocat o n i e th e
part of th e bod y from wh atev er ca use Hypoxic - Thi s i s th e adj ec ti va Fo rm to avai ab le from Mrs Ho mes at 1 Grosvenor Crescent. Yo u r H os p t a l has had a n
dges the two commun i! o x y ge n ( eg und er an aest ]en c) th en he de t er ioriill io n n th e day-to- separa t ed f or so long by h atred and mistrust and wha t ever gas Ini x ture can be desc rib ed as hy po x c d ay po l ti ca si t uation. Now I I h appe n , the Hos p ita wi co n inue in its m iSS on to serve Anoxia - Thi s s th e to al abse n ce o
we a n xio u sly await the ou tcom e of he ne gotiati on s abo u t poor a n d t h e sick in h e Holy Land o x y ge n in he body ti ss ues. (AnoxicPale st n ian a utonomy n t he G az a Str p an d Jeric h o w h ich wi ll Th e ad' t f)
g m ec hani sm eg f r o m p ar a l ys s. ASPHYXIA l ead s Lo HYPOXI A and finall y if n o t treat ed , to th e st ate of A NOXI A.
SI. John Amb ul ance members tried [0 res usc itat e him and were ater joined b) Hamp shire Ambulance Staff but Mr Suffell was pronounced dead on arri\ al at th e local hospital.
Mrs Sufrell said "He was involved in pipe bands for over 30 years. it \I, as his life. "
Another band member Mr Ian Ra kstr<l\\ died after co llap si ng at h is hom e. Mr Rack straw was Band SergeaJll Major and had onl y just returned home th e ni2ht before from a tour in Germany.
As a mark or respect a lone piper played <l ttil e funeral or r SutTel1.
FIRST AIDER ATTACKED
Ca d e t s H e a ppli e d o rh e Co un c il fo r a g r a nt as pa rt of th e C i t y Ch a ll e nge a nd as a res ult th e ca d e s h ave a tr a inin g a id o f th e sa m e leve ls as t he HS A mbul a n ce S e rv ice.
" I I d tr y fo r th e awar d a nd a m de li g ht e d I ucceed e d Th e C a d e s g ive up a lo t of th e ir tim e h el pin g o th e rs Th ey no w have qu a lit y e quipm e nt to e n s ur e th e ir sk ill s a re s po o n ," sa id Bill y. " M y
Ca d e ts s h ow th e re a re a lo t of goo d
yo un g peo pl e a b o ut in Mi d dl es bro ug h ," h e a dd e d.
Top Award for 'Cool' Teenagers
Three K e tt e ri n g tee n agers a re th e fi r s St. J o hn Ambul a nce Ca d e ts in he
Duk e of Gl o u ces te r f o r th e ir qui c kthililkin g a cti o n s
Al ex Lenn o n age d IS , Ke rry T y rr e ll
a ge d IS , a nd Sa manth a T y rr e ll rece iv e d a s pec a l awar d f ro m th e Gr a nd Pri o r o f th e
Orde r of St. J o hn uhe !D u ke of Gl o uc es te r
But a s the man wa s g ivin g Fir s t Aid a tr u c k pulled up and se veral jwmp e d out. They punch e d and kicke d him a nd proceeded to drive off with the two injured acc ident victim s.
The St. John Ambul a nc e first a ider received facial 1I1Jun es in c ludin g a bro k en jaw H e wa s t a ken by a mbul a nc e to a lo c al ho s pital.
A s poke s man from the lo ca poli ce headqu a rter s sa id that they had re ceiv e d a call at about 11 20pm s ayin g th at a c a r h a d cras hed into a tr ee. On arrival at th e
f o r th e ir he lp , ca lmn ess a nd effic ie n cy w h e n dea lin g w it h cas u a lti es a t a n acc id e nt - ri dde n ho rse s how a De lap re
Pa rk , No rth a m pto n
T h e Ca d e s he lp ed o ut w ith over 25
in c id e nt ra n g in g fro m a b r oke n p in e ,
pe lv is a nd kull. to s t ra in s a nd h ock a nd a so a yo un g boy w it h a suspec ted foo t f r act ur e.
A ll three Cade t s re m a in ed ca lm,
co m fo rt e d t h e cas ua lti e a nd ba nd age d min o r injur ies.
A ng ie Goo dm a n S up e rint e nd e nt of
St J o hn in Ke tt e rin g sa id," 1 a m very
pr o ud of th e m Wh en face d wi th rea l e m e rge nc ies th ey pe r fo rmed as we ll as a n y a dult a n d I wa a bl e t o re y o n t h e m t o ta ll y."
St. John Ambulance
Man Dubbed Hero
T he F ir s t A d sk ill s of a 17 yea r o ld S t. J o hn A mb u la nce m e m be r he l ped save th e li fe of a c hil d in j ur e d in a roa d tr a ffi c acc id e n t.
17 yea r o ld Pa ul J o hn so n ca m e to th e a id of nin e yea r o ld Sa ra h Cl a r k w h o b ega n c h o kin g af e r be in g in a co lli s io n w ith a ca r o ut s id e K w i k Save In F lee t wood.
P a u I, w lTO h as seve n yea rs' ex pe ri e nce w ith S t. J o hn A mb u
T he d ri ve r of th e o th er car wa un hurt
JIM FIXES 11 for NHS
Heart Patients
Sir Jimmy Saville OBE has fixed it on again - this time he has added he a diseases to the long list of worthy cau s he has actively campaigned for an supported.
TV's Mr Fixit has personally donate £500 to launch a fund to help patients wh the NHS refused to see treated by pioneering procedure for cleansing arterie called chelation therapy.
The AHF, Britain's newest heart charit supports the use of chelation as a safe an gentle alternative for the treatment 0 cardiovascular disease against vocifero u opposition from some doctors, particular! surgeons fighting to increase the numbe of bypass operations.
The More the Meatier
There's nothing wrong with a little red meat in one's diet, but Mark Dollman of Henley really takes the biscuit. Mark raised more than £200 for St. John Ambl!llance when he set himself the unenviable task of polishing off 41b of steak, four baked potatoes and a plate of salad - all in 45 minutes! De s pite the support of his friends and the regulars at the Saracen s Head in Greys Road, the meat won the day and three ounces were still on the plate 45 minutes later. Onlookers were so impressed with his valiant effort that he s till managed to collect a cool £230 towards a vacuum splint for one of the county 's St. John Ambulance vehicles.
Squeezing the Last Drop
According to the Charities Aid Foundation, the bigger charitie s a re s queezin g out le ss well-known bodie s as members of the general public change 'pet ' charities.
Last year the top 200 chariti es increased their income by three per ce nt but the medium- s ize d c haritie s s uffe red a nine per cent drop in donation s. The foundation claim s in its Annual Report that a s a re s ult of this over 200 medium-sized charitie s - those with voluntary income s between £34 ,000 and £1.3 million - had to reduce their expenditure by eight per cent.
Almost one - tpird of the total voluntary income for the top 500 organisations in 1992 was raised by the leading 10 charities.
Charities Aid Foundation Executive Director Michael Brophy said, "Financial pressures are continuing to grow , particularly for the medium and smaller charitie s, many of whom appear to have been timced to cut their level s of service
Beating the resource crisis is the biggest single cIila l'l enge facing the sector
!liJowever, ciespihe the fall in income for many sectors the top 400 charitie s gave a re e<;>rd £2.6 billiom in 1992.
ST. JOHN LIFESAVERS
Man IComes Back from the Dead'
Quick-thinking b y members of the audience saved the life of a man who collap s ed s hortly before the start of the Opera at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre.
Th
ra H o r we ll a nd a n Am e ri ca n do c to r.
Dr Al ex D a ru c i , a co ns ult a nt ph ys ic ia n in S a nt a C ru z, m ass a ge d th e m a n 's h ea rt w hil e Mrs H o r we ll , a fo rm e r m e m be r of
St. J o hn A mbul a n ce ga ve th e m a n m o uth - o- m o uth r es u sc ita ti on.
As th e p a ir wo rk e d o save th e m a n 's li fe, th e ga ll e r y w as c ea r ed. An a m b ul a n ce arri ve d fiv e minute la te r a nd r adi oed fo r a p a r a m e di c unit w he n th ey r ea l se d th a t th e m a n was n o brea thin g a nd h a d n o pul se H e wa def ibrill ate d o n th e way to th e h os pit a a nd began b rea thin g aga in
Mr s H o rwe ll ha d th e hi g hes pra ise fo r
Dr D a ru c i, " H e was a bso lute ly m arve ll o us.
He to ld me to sta rt brea thin g fo r t he m a n w hi c h I d id I wa a m e mber of St. J o hn
A mbul a nce - th ey tr a ned m e - but I neve r ,
eve r did a ny thin g lik e thi s befo re."
Heart Attack Victim to Come Home
The son of a 76 ye ar old woman ha s contacted St. John Ambulance for help in bringing his mum home when she was taken ill in Spain.
H a rri e t D a ley of Be ll e V a e, Liv e rp oo l w a ho lid ayin g with he r fa mil y in Sp a in wh e n s he s uffe re d a m ass iv e hea rt a tt ac k
Afte r e n days o n a li fe s upp o rt m ac hin e
Mr s D a ley's co nditi o n improv e d a nd s he was s ub sequ e ntl y d i c ha rged from h os pita l.
as a Cade t in
Fin c hl ey a nd hi f irs p ubli c dut y
was a t th e Sta t e F un e r a l of Kin g
G e orge V. F o ll ow in g wa r se r vice in
th e B e dfo rd s hir e a n d H e Tt fo rd s hir e
R eg im e nt h e r e turn e d
Di s tri c t a nd se r ve d in f in a ll y r eac hin g th e
D e put y C o mmi ss i o n e r.
to L o n do n eve r y ra nk , h e ig h ts of
In hi s t ra inin g r o l e h e was
in s trum e nt a l in d eve l o pin g th e f ir st
Air Atte nd a nt s Co ur se - th e fo re-
runn e r o f o ur A e r o m e di ca l S erv ice
F iftee n yea r s ago B o b m oved to
Buckin g h a m s hir e a nd durin g th e
f ollowin g yea r s a v a ri o u s tim es, h e ld b ot h Co mm a nd e r a nd
Commi ss i o n e r r a nk s a nd w as hi g hl y ac ti ve in th e r ece nt £5 0 0,0 0 0 a pp ea l.
Bu c kin g h a m s hir e is fo rtun a te n
Jerusalem Visit
St. Joh Historical Society
o v i sit f ri e nd s in t ha t pa rt kn ow n as th e D ord og ne, he was ta ke n to Roca m a d o ur a sm a ll m edi eva to wn built in to rh e 49 0 f t c liff face.
On th e to p o f th e c li ffs a re th e ruin s of the H os pi ta l St. J ea n buil t o g ve care o th e pil gr im s. On t h e c li ff face a nd a tt ac he d to St. Sav io ur s B as ili ca th e re is a B oo k s ho p n w hi c h Dr D awso n fo und a ve rit abl e lib rary o n th e Hi s t o ry of T he
Orde r of St. John
Al t ho ug h a m e mb e r of Th e Ord er him se f a nd h av in g rea d a lit t le o f th e m e mb e rs hip of th e E n g li s h O rd er, up o n v is itin g th e libra ry Co lin rea li se d a t th a t m o m e nt th a t h e li tera ll y kn ew no thin g a bo ut th e ea rl y hi s o ry of Th e O rde r , o r of th e di ffe re nt to ng u es' ac ross Euro pe a nd fe lt th a t he w a nte d to kn ow m ore.
Up o n hi re tum a pp roac hes w e re m ad e to th e C urator , th e n th e Libra ri a n o nl y o f ind th a t no Hi stori ca l S oc e ty of Th e
Orde r
a
s
r
e rs hip oth e r th a n ha vin g a n inte res t in h e s ubj ec t.
It mu s t be sa id that it i no t a soc ie ty e xc lu s iv e to pe rso lilS livin g in L o nd o n and ne ig hbourin g counti es. It has m e mbers f ro m rmany c ounti es, W a le s, S c otland Nort hern Ire a nd , Eire, J e rsey C.I
Anyo n e requ iri ng further information o r in teres ted in membe rs hip shou ld co nt ac t :
Miss HE Gribble SRN ScM 13 Highcombe Close London SE94QH
A nnu a s ub sc rip t io n ra te s ar e £ I 0 s in g le o r £ I 5 p e r m a rried co uple
Driver Survives
Horrific Rally Crash
As the cars approached Craners Curves at Donington Park Motor Racing Circuit , Leicestershire on the second lap of the main feature race , a car left the track at approximately 120 m.p.h. It ran into a gravel trap, hit a tyre wall surrounding the track, somersaulted through the air clearing an eight foot debris fence and eventually landed upside down in the spectator area.
The driver was trapp ed in side the seve re ly damaged car - the roof had been pu s hed to within 18 inches of the bonnet , even though the car was fitted with a full roll cage. During the crash the petrol tank had s plit , releasing the hi g hl y flammable f ue l throughout the vehicle.
Da vid Ta y lor a 22 yea r old e lectr cian from Fleckney happened to be on duty with St. John Ambulance a t Donington Park Motor Ra c in g Circuit in Leice ste rs hir e in November 1992 when the acc ident occurred. Da v id a nd Patrick Fennessy , a member of the Briti s h Motor Racin g Marshal s Club were cover in g Craners Curve a nd The Old Hairpin , a swee pin g downhill right-left bend leading to a 90 d eg ree ri g ht hand bend.
Seein g the accident both men ru s hed to the scene a nd c raw led into the vehicle to assist the driver, ignor in g th e obvious dangers. The driver was uncon sc iou s for a s hort w hil e a nd when he regained consciousness was very di sorie nt a ted. Dav id and Patrick remained with the casualty until the re sc ue unit a rrived a nd as s isted with the removal of the driver. Both men s pe nt between three a nd five minute s in the car de s pite fuel le ak in g from the ruptured tank a ll the time.
The driver was examined at the Circuit Medic a l Centre by a doctor and walked away with nothin g more than a thumpin g headache!
Both David and Patrick received The Life Saving Medal of The Ord e r of St. John in Bronze for th e ir actions at a pre se ntation performed by Assistant CO'lnty Commissioner Mr Davenport. This is one of the highe s t awards for bravery that can be bestowed by llhe Orde li and nas only ever b ee n awarded 45 times to people witlnin the United Kingdom ( 162 in total worldwide). V e ry few have actually be en awarded to non-member s of St. John.
(Thank s to J o hn D odds who suppli ed us with th ose spectacu lar photographs)
10 St. John World
Powerboat Crash Victims Survive
Two divers from Guernsey's St. John Ambulance and Rescue Service saved the lives of two Italian powerboaters in a dramatic rescue at the British Offshore Grand Prix. The accident was one of three major crashes which tested the ability of safety team covering the 300
France sco Pansini a nd Floriano Omoboni we re tr app ed ben ea th th e waves in th e waterfilled cockpit of th e ir Class I pow er boat, after a 100 mile -a n-hour c rash durin g th e Cla ss I World Off hore Championship hel d
Th e It a li ans we re driving th e ir powerboat Coge me- It eco at s peed ro und a course mark , when the 45ft craft s udd e nl y " barre l-ro ll ed" overt urn ed. It tern s tarted to s ink and w ithin seco nds the rear 30 fe e t, in c ludin g the
Guern sey's famous ambu lance launch ly in g Christine II was o n dut y for th e evelll, nd imm e diately sped to th e trick e n vesse l whil e it s two div e rs, Stewart Ew in g a nd John .. Je Page, s trapped a ir cy lind e r onto th e ir and mad e rea dy to e nt er th e wa ter. As he la un ch reached the s inking pow e rbo a t the divers went overboard and swa m 20 feet down the e ngth of the boat to rea c h the cockpit, whi c h wa s c losed and fu ll of water. he two occ up a nt were pin ned again th e cover, one un co nscio us a nd not brea thin g.
With so me difficulty the divers turned the it re lease a nd lifted th e hatch cover, e pulling the un conscio us Pan s ini free while the ot he r held open the hatc h
The casua lty was immediately tak e n to the by diver Ie Page, whil s t div e r Ew in g the narrow cockp it and pulled coriver Omoboni away from the g lass to afety. Both divers reac hed th e s ur face ithin 15 seco nd s of each o th er.
Pan s ini wa tran sfe rred ac ros a rubber ing hy o nt o the deck of Flying Chris /iI/ e. He as g iv e n imm ed iat e t reatme nt by a doctor n board, and a Sea Kin g He li copte r from Culdrose pre pa red to winch th e ,; asualty from the amb ul ance la un c h
By the time the econd cas ua lt y had bee n g ht o n board the doctor had decided th at cond iti o n made winching inadvi _ Ie, so Fl y ing Ch ri stin e II headed for s hore
St. J ohn dil 'eJ"s hring th e two casua lti es to th e sUiface as th e 45ji hoat sink s lower into th e sea. ( Ph o to by Bri an Green).
whil further treatment was g iven durin g the journey.
He was tr an fen·ed to an ambu lance, and taken to the is land's Princess Elizabeth Ho s pital , where he remained in a c ritical condit ion in the int ens ive care unit for two day s Some days later the expensive powerboat wa located and sa lvage d from a depth of 120 feet.
Two other acc ident s provided a difficult te for tho e involved in providi ng afety cover for the eve nt, and afterward officia l and participant s were fu ll of prai se for tho se in vo lved An American doctor, who travel the wor ld making a particular s tud y of powerboat accidents aid th e re pon se to the in c id e nt was " phenom ena !" '.
Guern sey' Chief Amb ul ance Officer , Nei I Tucker , sa id th e radio log revealed that wit hin three minute of the accident th e Fl y in g Christine had come a longs id e the race
boat , the tw o diver had entered the water , a floatin g s tretcher and dinghy had bee n deployed from rhe ambulance launch , and the trapped casual tie had been relea sed from their cockpit and delivered into the hand s of profe ss ional , medically trained s ta ff. Within fou r minutes a helicopter was ho ve ring overhead ready to winch the victim to a shore-based ambu lance.
Mr Tucker praised his di ve rs and the crew of the Flyin g Chrisline, bur emp hasised that the safety cover in volved monrhs of preplanning a nd depended on many individual s and vo lunt eers work in g together as a clo se ly co-ordinated team. The e included both Guem ey ' s profes s ional St. John Ambulance and Resc ue Service and voluntary St. John division
Maritime cover for rhe races wa provided by the Fl y in g Christine Guern sey's lifeboat a nd harbour workboat. to get he r wit h three R oyal aval ve e ls and a helicopter from RNAS Culdro e. a ll w ith doctor and nur e on board The e were upporred by a ho t of volunteer guard boat and firsr re ponse boat s. The ervice al 0 provided a paramedic for the Sea King helicopter, a hore-ba ed amb ul ance at th e harbour, and an office r to co-o rdin ate the medical response to incident from th e race radio communications centre.
Gu e rn sey's volu nt ary divisions manned a mobile Fir t Aid post at the powerboat village whi ch wa co ns tructed at St. Peter Porr for the week -l o ng event. A Sea Kin g h eli cop ter lowers a winchl1lan as th e doctor decides whether fO airlif; rh e cas llalry/rom rh e Flyin g Christine.
St. John World 11
Th e Whi ne Kn ox C up , t h a t didn ' t inte r es t us.
Th e n th e Dunb a r Nas mi nh F irs t A id and Nurs in g Cad e t.
Hi! th a t 's us - Orm s kirk L an cas hire, 696, o ur tea m w it h hi g hes t ma rk s.
Bu t th e re we re o
Our Special Weekend
73 yea r o ld , Mar garet M ellin g, offer s a rath er un us ua l d epi cti on of th e atm osph ere and p roceed in gs a t thi s
ye ar s' Bri gad e Fin a ls Fir s t A id Co mp etiti o ns, he ld in
C roy d on M argaret vva s th e g randm oth er of H elen
Clark so n , o ne of th e co mp etin g Ca d ets, who \tvro te a
p oe m abo ut th e da y a s see n th ro ug h H elen 's eyes.
W e tr a ve ll e d d ow n to Cro y d o n w ith o ur g ro up a nd f ive Ca de ts
W e h ad mi xe d fee lin gs a bo ut o ur exc it e m e nt.
H a d we rea ll y got a c h a nce? It was th e w ho le co untr y we we re up a ga in st.
Never mind we h ad wo n th e R eg iona l C up , a nd to get he re was a n ac hi e ve m e nt.
Th e d ay, th e bi g d ay a rri ve d B e ry l a n d K a th too k us in th e minibu s, to F a irf e ld H a ll s a t C roy d o n fo r th e Bri ga d e F in a ls.
Our brea k fas t , ju s t lik e our tummi es was a bit mi xe d up.
K a th 's lec tur e o n iso la tion ' was nee de d to p ut us in t he ri g ht f ra m e.
Y es, we wo uld d o o ur b est, but o ur mind s we re co nf used
And we wo nd e re d w h a t was th e bes t ? Oh w hy d id we no t st u dy o ur b oo ks?
Our turn - th e off ic ia ls he ld up t hei r c lip boa rds, a n d th e w hi st le bl ew.
W e ha d to m a rc h o n th e st age to a ga ll e ry f ull of spec tato rs a nd do Firs t Ai d und e r th e gaze of th e offi c ia l look in g j udges; if o nl y we cou ld run away.
Te n minut es a n d we we re t hr o ug h b ut then we we re taken to a n o th e r roo m to wo rk a lo ne, to nu rse a n d treat a pa t ient for Ho m e N urs in g.
O h dea r! Wha t was it we h ad to do? It fee ls li ke t he rea l th in g, wit h t he pat ie n t look in g so il l.
There aga in was the j ud gew ith h is clip board an d pe n If o nl y we co ul d see w hat he was w ri ti ng?
Where on eart h d id a ll t h ese people co m e from who were watc h in g be h i nd the ba rri ers?
A t long last it was a ll over, h ad we do ne our bes t?
Now we were re m e mb er in g, sh o ul d we h ave do ne t hi s or t h at.
Our parents we re no t mu c h he lp, w h at happe ned to their fait h in us?
T h ey d id not eve n watc h ; t hey ran and hid behind t he curta in.
A t lo ng last t he co mp e ti tio n s were co m pleted; the pa rt tio ns re m oved fro m th e stage.
The tables were set w i th t h e St. Jo hn flag, and cups a nd sh ield s a rr ayed.
T h e ba nd p layed, and w e m a rc hed in as o ur d ist ricts were ca ll ed
Eve ryo ne stoo d up c hee rin g and c lapping, a nd t hey d id n 't even know t he w in ners.
T h e at m osp here was ten- if ic , it made yo u fee l p ro ud to be
B r it is h.
12 St. John World
We
Tr u s th o use Fo rt e.
Grand Prior's First Ai Competition
cutting breeze and snow capped mountains left visitors to the town of F ia htin g for howe rs a nd a c ha nge o ut of uni fo rm
D I " f b f Buxton in little doubt as to where they were. On thls bllter November Befo re we kn ew It, we we re o n t l e tr a lIl , two In ac, e ore II '"
I d T h L d P II d · nl morning as the town of Buxton hved up to lts usual sub-zero wmter reac l e e o n on a a Iu temperatures competitors, casualties and spectators flocked to the T h e c ur ta in wen r up t he tage was set, the sce nery mag ni ficenl Pavilion Gardens in search no doubt of a little warmth, possibly in the
The s inging was o ut of t hi s wor ld we were t ran ported into tt form of a quick dram!
B ibl e_ to see 'Josep h and hi coa t of many co lo ur s'.
1s
Top lefi - M em her s ol th e Briti s h T e l eco m M e n 's ea m pi c tur ed durin g th e com p e tit ions.
th e ir ta sks with g rea t enthu s ia sm and contributed to makin g th e eve nt a s uccess."
Th e Lord Ves tey prese nted the winn e rs with th e ir trophi es and co ngratul ated everyone on th e s he e r
I ' I I ' Id - d danc Ing to 'Rock an But th e elemen ts although unkind , did lIttl e to
B u t w hat IS tll S t l ecl l le n a n eve l yo ne " ' II f' d dampen the e n hU Sia sm and vigo ur of the R o ll b ut so me how It altte In I I ee co mp eti to rs From ea rly mornin g 'ca ualti es'
T he a tm osp h ere and act in g we re u pe r b, we lac never were bein g made up and locked away in the a nyt hi ng l ike it. iso lation room , team s tes ted eac h other on
Even t he th ri ll of w inni ng t he C u p was fo rgotten in 01 basic First Aid pro cedures, as Ton y Thornton. excitement. Competitions Man age r (in hi s usua l ca lm ,
And then w hen we got signed pho tographs of 'Joseph' .that Ber cool mann e r! ) and Margare t Bark e r, Assistant sec retly had arranged, we wondered were we d ream1l1g. Competitions Mana ge r rul ed th e roo t with an
Just like ' Jo ep h ' in his I11U ical we all dream a lot' or wa iron hand en urin g th a t eve rythin g and rea l? eve ryone was in place and rea dy for the tart of th e 1993 Gra nd Prior 's compet iti on.
When we had finished for t he day , for a mea l we a ll went.
And ate what we could, and now we were on our way, Undergro un d statio n , and train back to our hotel.
Not to be - in tead off to a party that had been a rranged.
to Catherine Edwards, competing on be half of
Briti sh Te leco m for the fir st time , faced a difficult sce nario in the indi vidual tes ts.
Catherine was wa lkin g down Southampton
We discussed our exam resu l ts, and others, did we deserve
Stree t Harroga te when s he wa s aske d to win? We were not sure. ass ist at an accident in the li vinG room of
W h y ca n 't we accept the w inners Cup, after a ll the judges kne no.45. A nine month old baby h: d stopp ed wh a t t hey were do ing. breathin g for no apparent reason. The baby 's mother was frantic. The emergency se rvice s
S un day morn in g; up for breakfast ,we were tired but we we co uld not arri ve for at least eight minutes going home, to te ll our friends abo u t the Cup. owing to a major incid ent at a local c hemical
We tr avelled t hrough London and sa w the ight s. wo rk s but the baby 's grandmother was
th e re are a few pa sse nge r aro und , one of whom is di abeti c. He ha s failed to take hi s in s ulin owing to hi s latene ss for work and mi ss in g break fast collapses falling to th e ground , fracturing hi s wrist. Th e cas ualt y's wife attempt s to catch her hu s band but s lip s and bangs he r hea d on the edge of a hard object u ta inin g a lace rat ed calp and concussion, and is unconsciou s for three minutes. A te a m from Briti s h Rail were asked to dea l with the casua lti es, so one se t aboul dealing with th e male casua lt y while hi s tea m mate looked after the female. The y went on to take seco nd pl ace in th e Op en Pairs sec tion
Dr. Elmsie, one of the judges was impre sed with the standard of First Aid provided. "Th e time keeping wa excellent and the ca ua lti es hav e been very goo d. If I had an accident I wo uldn t mind being treated by any of them ," jok ed the jovi a l co t.
We we re st il l in a dream. Were we tired or was it Josep hpresent and willing to help where nece ssary. dream?
" I am not co nfid ent , I didn t do very we ll in
It was o n ly w hen we got home to Orm kirk , and passing () the individual te ts," sa id a very di appo inted f riends ho uses, that the reali sa tion came to us, and in 0 Cather in e, who had realised that rh e baby ba refeet we r an to te ll them. nee ded mou th-to- mout h re s usc ita tion but 'We've won! We ' ve won t he national Cup, and we are so proLilfai led to give CPR a lso.
W h at a day , w hat a weekend!
A local railway station se ts the sce ne for h the Open Pairs compet iti on It is ea rl y
We thank all who worked so hard to give us sue mornin g and the station is unm anned, but wonderful time.
190January 7994 January ,
HRH Prin cess Margare t, Coume s of Snowdon visited the Pavilion Garden s and pent a co upl e of hours watching the co mpetitions, meeting the competitors and cas ualti es and speakin g to the judge s before leavin g for anot he r engagement.
Tony Thornton, Competitions Mana ge r sa id , " I would lik e to expres my app rec iation to all thos e volun tee rs who once again gave up all th e ir tim e to ass ist at the event and t wou ld be unfair to spec ifically mention any pe rso n in parti cular as eve ryone carried out
•
•
PUT YOUR FIRST AID NEEDS SAFE HANDS
The Su 'P-lY-ing Game
Brian Rockel!'s office tucked away in the corner of th building was neither lu}.:urious nor ornate, but had th, look of a decidedly busy man about it. Strewn acrOJ the desk were copies of 'Total Quality Manageme/1/ pl'Oduced by the DTI, no doubt essential to eve r business man and in the corner a vast ana of marketing and management books including 0 11 called 'The Right to Dismiss'!
uaking in my boots and relying on the 'luck of the Irish' I took my life in my hands and approached the office of Brian Rockell to get the low down on Sf. John Supplies and its multimillion pound turnover.
Anne Reilly Reports
It's funny, when you conjure up ideas of multi-million pound empires, you immediately associate (or at least 1 do) them with the luxurious, ornate buildings and offices which normally seem to accompany them - unfortunately I was in for a bitter disappointment with St. John Supplies.
16 St. John World
BR - The move, scheduled for March is not intended merely to increa se the range of good s althou gh it is inevitable , particularly in the em e rgency care product s th at th e ra nge will in c re ase and it can be seen from our catalo gue which was publi shed in December , that
and we JJ 0 years c:ld. St. John Supplies has enjoyed a rap t published our
gue, But
SUfJl?lies has established a sound reputation not just amongst Brigade but in the commercial market as well, resulting in its rapid growth and its multi-million pound turnover. The planned office move in March is obviously indicative of the organisation's expansion and increasing success. Does this move indicate an equivalent expansion of St. John's range of products? FIRST AID __ 993 CATALOGU 1..on'G
growth, much of which is accreditable to Brian Ro c kel mov e to the new premi ses will en a bl e u to and over the past five years has enjoyed an increase handl e ev er in c re as in g volum es o f g ood s than expansion of its range of products. So much so that Th e was e ve r po ss ible in th e old buildin g. are planning an office mOl 'e in March 94. Your customers include most of the larger industries, the police force and ambulance As with any large , successful organisation St. Jo il services. Do you think that providing these Supplies has its share of complaints and is freque11l 1 organisations with a range of non-regulathe butt of people's jokes but Brian takes this in /11 tion products compromises your serving stride, "To some extent it is kind of an outdatc the St. John member' ethos '? belief. People go around saying Supplies has a ba BR - 1t depe nd s on wh a t yo u mea n by nonreputation bu! it isn't supported by what peop/ reg ul ation good s. Ever y orga ni sa ti o n has its actually say and sometimes of course we are fJ own protoco ls for use of equipm e nt a nd , St. Jo hn has suc h pro toco ls in pl ace with natural butt of someone s displeasure ego a change t f' h h f C I e ms 0 equIpm e nt w IC a re SUItabl e o r ul7l/orm whlch they might not agree With becom ( Bri ga de u e. Oth e r orga ni sa ti ons hav e proour fault. We are a kind of natural and ident!/iabl toco ls and we have to res pec t a ll of th e m a nd source of grievance." it i esse nti a l in winnin g bu sin ess in oth e r indu stri es th at we are abl e to s uppl y and mee t W · h b' b k dB" h th ose full needs If a strong uSlness ac groun, l'Ial7 IS a SUlfa and worthy anchor for the commercial arm of St. fo ! b t' d' •• U In OIng so you are compromI SIng Ambulan c e and re\ 'els 117 Its success. wah :1 he need s of the ordinar y gra ss root s St. results of my straw poll I set about b/'lngmg Bm J ohn member who r e pr ese nt t he Rockel! to book on behalf of the counties. found a tion s of your busin es s.
BR - 1t is our ea rn es t int e nti on to s uppl y a ll our c us ome rs nee ds. Sup plying ce rt ai n products to o th e r orga ni sa ti o ns does no t in a ny way co mpromi se mee tin g th e nee ds of th e S t.
In 1992 you employed a Busmess Development Manager Jo h 1 b " d d spearhead the growth of the First Aid range. What devel o I me n: e l In ee It mea ns meet In g eve rybo dy s nee ds ra th e r tha n say in g to ments has this brought? so meo ne so rr y yo u ca n t have tha l.
BR - A significant increase in the busine ss acro ss what we wou traditionally call our First Aid range and our Emergency Ca Dres s regulations is an o ngoin g bone of activit.ies.We see thar as bringing enormou s advantages to St. 101con tention with man y member s as is t he both in tenns of the additional income we derive from that and ucost of uniform s which m a n y co ns id er very product support which we can give to St. John members. ex pensive. One co unt y in particular that I spoke to, bu y their jumpers etc, locall y for less despite S upplie s offer to the In the same year you also installed a new computer systf d ifference. which you hoped would bring considerable improvements BR W '. predicting the length of time it took to replace some items. H ,- e have a lo wes t prI ce po lI cy on a WId e ra nge of prod uc ts a nd t I 'f the introduction of such a computer system brought the hope , q UI e s Im p y I a '" ? custom e r co mes to us and says th ey ca n bu y lor th d e pro LI c r e lse wh e re mo re c heap ly the n we BR - Yes it has across two areas. Firstly, it has enabled us to han owill refund he diffe re nce. an increasing level of business without any diminution in ser vi levels. In other words it enabled our capacity to increase. Secon d we can make forecest on likely demands for products, January 191Ja nu ary 1994
60205
As fa r as pri c in g itself s con ce rned we have no w he ld o ur uniform price s for tw o full ye ars a nd th at has brou g ht a s igni ficant sa vin g to St. Jo hn unit s a nd me mb e r Of co ur se from tim e to tim e peopl e will a lways find a loca l goo d dea l, som e thin g
corner it has to be ensured th at you reall y are ge ttin g the bes t po ss ible dea l beca use the be t de a l is not j ust about pric e it s about qu alit y dur a bility and co nve nien ce - it 's ab o ut all of th o e thin g . And the exa mpl es th at peo pl e have qu oted to us abo ut sav in g money co nve ni e ntl y ignores th e VAT whi ch is ex tr a on top of th e pri ce th ey' re pay ing whereas th e pri ce we cha rge St. John me mbers is inclu s ive, but you do check it out if someone claims to be getting a better deal elsewhere.
nge of goods ha to ens ur e co ntinuit y. q ualit y a nd d ur abilit y and if one saves SO p rou nd t he
BR - Yes of course we wo uld c hec k it out.
Orders
Th
a wid e range o f be ne fit s in c ludin g di scount on bulk purc hases and fr ee de liver y Option s ar e av ail abl e fo r pri vil ege d card c ustom e r hold e rs to ha ve th e ir speedlin e order s prepared to await co ll ec tion from th e
St. John Shop Th ese and oth er con ve ni ent
me thod of orderin g and pay in g are ex pl a in ed in greater de ta il in each of our cat alo gues
Your gold /silver speedline service has been dubbed good but expensive'. Can you justify the costs involved when so many divisions purse strings are knotted?
BR - Speedline s ilv e r and gold offe r add ed servi ces for tho se members who do rea ll y want the ben efit of fa st deliver y servi ces inc ludin g the option of an ov ernight de li ve ry ser vice. Tho se servi ces ar e th ere as option s for tho se members who re all y do wa nt th e fas tes t deliver y time and it is po ss ibl e to rin g us one da y and receive the good s no ma tter what th e ma gnitude of the order an ywh e re in the United Kingdom
but this service is used mainly by county offices because most divisions wouldn't be able to afford it.
BR - People use tha t se rvice whe n the y ar e ordering good s whi c h they requir e urgentl y It is n t a service whi ch peopl e necessa rily use routinely, becaus e for routin e requirements they can use our speedline ser vic e and the good s are still with them quickly What th ey do have if they run out of somethin g which th e y desperately require , is a service which they can call upon delivered to them as fas t as th e following day.
has a monopoly on badges and emblems and as a result of which can charge accordingly. Many of the members I have spoken to feel that they are overpriced. What is your reaction to this?
BR - It is difficult to know what people are trying to compare that with. It ha s to be remembered that we are trying to en sure th e qLJality and suitability of the product. Som e of the products are of clD urse omly low voll!lme ,
18 St. John World
thin g th at indi vidu al co unti es nee d Eve n so we be lie ve Ih at th ose produ cls ar e very pri ced in th e mark e t pl ace.
Some member s told me that they buy their bandages etc elsewhere because Supplies are more expensive. Surely the cost of bandages and essential basic equipment should be in-line with that which divisions can afford. Are you not biting your nose off to spite your face b y charging more for such items '?
BR - If you co mp are th e pri ces of our First Aid range of produ cts with th ose of hi gh str ee t stores, of co ur se th e re may be oc ca ions whe n yo u udd enl y find yo u need a dress in g and ru shin g ar ound to th e lo ca l che mi st is th e mos t ex pedi ent way o f ge ttin g it. But o ur pri ces are definit ely more comp etiti ve th a n any yo u wo uld find in th e hi gh str ee t. Jt has to be re me mb e red th at we have di sco unt for quantit y and we have a lowes t pri ce pro mi se ac ro s th e whole range o f Firs Aid pr od ucts 0 we ar e confid e nt th at we are offe rin g qu alit y produ cts at a ve ry co mp e titi ve pri ce.
Also our bu ye rs loo k ve ry ca re full y at pricin g thr oughout th e co untr y o co mpare and to en sur e th at we are offe rin g good valu e.
" ... some of them are quite effusive and we are delighted to receive that kind of comment"
What is your policy on discontinued stock?
In the case of the bow tie, one particular county ordered a large amount and then ended up ' stuck with them' becau se the y had been discontinued without any prior warning. Do you offer a mone y back guarantee on such goods?
BR - Th e re are a numb e r of wa ys in w hi c h a memb e r may know of a c ha nge. If th e re's a chan ge to an item of uni f orm noti ce o f that will ge nerally be g iv e n in Bri ga d e Ord e r
When a ne w it e m is a va il able it g ives noti ce of tha t. Now it sometim es ha pp e ns th a t even thou gh ther e s a n it e m di scontinu ed there still continu es to be a de ma nd for it. Peopl e m ig ht want a ll me mb e rs of a di vis ion to be dr essed alik e or som eon e has da mage d an item so tM e re a lwa ys continu es to be a demand for a n ite m e ve n thou g h it has bee n di scontinued.
We offer a 60 day un condition a l c ha nge of mind policy, so that would g ive th e m ample tim e to di scov e r that it is not so mething that they want. It 's twi ce th e le ngth of time g iven by anyon e e l e. Hi g h str ee t stor es only offer 14 day s, some offer 30 da ys but we feel in an organi sation s uch as St. John it is right that we s hould offe r the bes t po ss ibl e servi ce le vel s. We giv e th e m th e opportunit y to return the item within 60 day s with no obliga tion.
There appear s to be a general consensu l amongst coun lDies that you aclvertise ne i stock in your catalogues and brochure, although when requested it isn't actual h avai1able. Why?
BR - Th e produ cts th at we adv erti se in au Suppli es form s are a lways ava il abl e on the dill of publi ca ti on but it so me tim es happe ns th e re ponse to items is ove rwhelm ing and so metimes mea n th at the re is a hort delal whil e we build up toc k Th e imp o rtant th in is th at we do not adve rti se unl ess th ey are I stoc k at th e tim e of adv erti sin g
Supplie s is often the butt of people ' s jokt out in the countie s but actuall y when I ra n around to ge t a feel for people 's view s [ Supplies , the feedback wa s invariabl postive
BR
stome' we do ge t a pos iti ve reopon
co mm e nt made by
re-
odu
d in OLlr
and
me
c ustome rs have
t Supp
ome of th em are qu ite effu sive a nd we ill deli ght ed to rece ive that kind of co mm ent. has to be sa id too th at if any of OLi r custome ha go t any ca use fo r co nce rn we wa nt to kil O abo
What are your plan s for 94 ?
BR - For 1994 we
IIWe are planning to movi in early 94 .. . " For exa mpl e we gua rant ee th at all
'We three or fo ur people per year, all of whom would come 'ecoIiTi}iJiTlemded Most of tme members I,ive il1l West Belfa st but if anyone 'roIilil an outside area wanted to join we'd welcome them but people aave a natural fear and tend to stick to their own areas in Belfast ," said I\drian. This form of public
Anne Reilly Reports.
Always a land of divided loyalties, Northern Ireland is a minefield of passionate loves and fiercer hatreds, where the bomb and bullet echo the intense feelings of communities isolated by religion - but there's more to the province than meets the eye. AdriCJn Petticrew if5 Divisional Officer of West Belfast Division. In a series of interviews with Anne Reilly he recounts the activities and struggles of the West Belfast (Broadway) Division.
West Belfast is an area often reported in tme media for al l the wrong reasons, us ual ly after a s hooting or bombing incident. It is an area of high unemployment and social deprivation, yet it is an area with pride in it se lf and its positive achievements - one of which is the West Belfast Division , St. John's busiest and biggest transport division in Northern Ireland.
Set up in 195 I by Francis Petticrew (Adrian's grandfather), todate the division has only had two Divisional Superintendents, testimQny to the dedication that Adrian's grandfather and then hi s father gave to the division. Jim is the longe st serving Divisional Superintendent in Northern Ireland having served the Brigade for 43 years. He is in hi s so n 's words "the driving force behind the operation".
Given the Province s' un stab le economic state and soaring unemployment rate, it 's hardly s urpri sing to hear that the division 's purse strings are knotted. "A ll our ambulances are bought second
actually inundated with requests to provide First Aid cover at mi onsttamtly 'c.llodging bomb s'. "A large amount of isolated incidents racing tracks, horse races, football and rugby matche s Fo ndensed on the 9 o'c ock new s looks horrific. The last month s have Surprisingly for a division with eight ambulances not one s in3een an increase in terrorism and it is worrying, but certain precaution s member is advanced trained. Although Adrian realises la re taken as read for the sa fet y of divi s ional members, s uch as making advanced training is not for al members he believes that there sure that members always get a lift home at night by car even if this five or six divisional members who would benefit from it , someone getting out of bed to do so," said Adrian. He is Maze Racecourse (the lo cal equiva lent of Ascot Jockey Clhowever, quick to point out that far from being the norm it is haven't come forward and requested the same levels of ski1l30mething out of the ordinary to come across incidents of thi s nature. Northern Ireland as in England. Nor has the opportunity or [n the ear ly 1970 's the division was often at the scene of major f undin g been made avai lable for members to train in advan:incidents and regularly went on standby for the ambu la nce service. ski ll s, West Belfast are not unique in this respect. To find £6000 Thankfully, this is rarely the case nowaday s. a defibrillator would be next to impossible especia ll y when division buys the unjforms for all the member.
..
Fundraising is very difficult for the division as carrying out do to-door collections is not very safe in some areas and with enormous workload of duties it is very difficult to expect membel1 9 'I k
A large amount of isolated incidents condensed on the
I
k h "+" .. turn out co ll ecting as well. May/June time would be one of 0 C oc news 00 s division 's busiest periods of the year, coming up to 60 transport du In 196 9, as Divisional Officer Jim Petticrew. (Adrian's father) :ran sported a patient to hospital, de pite being badly hurt by a concrete per month.
With the average age of divisional 22, Adrian feolock deliberately thrown through the window of the ambulance. Mr a lthou gh many divisions would envy them this , it does hav ePe tticrew almost lo s t the s ight of hi eye as a re s ult and was awarded a drawbacks, " With o ur members being 0 young they don t have BEM for hi s actions. Many other ex-members from that period had contacts and so it make s fundraising even more difficult. The bul k; imilar storie s of being caught up in riot s and s hooting s.
through o ur County HQ and tIllS Ju st about covers runn1l1g costs 'e rvice Ad f l
workIng In abnormal 1mbulance ervice.
Then in 1985 during the ambu lance serv ice dispute in Northern
The divisional headquarters otherwise known as the 'garage' haS" relal1ld, the d ivi sion was once again called in to help The di s pute occasion been described as "cheap but nasty" and has undergfhlch started on a Friday, had esca lated by the Tuesday as a ll various changes s in ce 1974 when it was burnt to the groun d)ersonnel walked out The division received a ca ll notifying them that arsonists In 19 83, two ambu lances, all the spare equipment, a cara1he ambulance crews were now on strike and refused to answer any and a member 's car were wiped out by a second arson attack. 'Jimergency calls. For the following two weeks , the division operated eventually found the 'g arage' which is located in an o ld bacon fact o me full-time vehicle and on occasion two. They dealt w irh over 200 They got a local building contractor to donate a porta-cabin and direct from the amb ul ance contro l in tho se two weeks. The it up for li ghting etc. In 1986 rhey invested im a guard dog called Red Cross were also involved. Surpri s ingly, in those two weeks who has bJeen wivh the m ever simce and !hey hav e mor had one call was related to a bombing or shooting. break-il1l since. a re llIumerous stories tllat be recounted of past Recruitment poses a big problem for the division "for but the division is more than just history - it' is a reasons. "We never put ad's in the paper or hold Public Firsl f r?gresSlve, vibrant division with a lot of ent hu siasm. The divi s ion >rid es Itself on d d b l d courses. We have got to be very careful who we recruIt. Members epen a I It y an It has earned It self an exce ll ent , .'eputatlOn for being effic' t d 'h d I I d recruIted through word-of-mouth by workmates, fnends and relall len an coope ratIV e w en ea II1g WIt 1 ulle s January J91'anuary 7994
such as motorbike racing, stock car racing, horse racing, socce r rugby and eve n the dreaded gymkana. The officers try to be pragmatic in the running of the division as it's hard to run the division along strictly normal line s when confronted with abnormal surro undin gs but they do try and their track record is indicative of their success.
Like many division s, West Belfa st ha s many wis hes, needle ss to say mo st are dependant on money. They wo uld really lik e at some s tage in the future, to provide better accommodation for meeting s and training. They have not purcha se d a
It
Any
Call
County and mvisional News
appointed Assistant Commissioner for St. John Ambulance in Hampshire. This is not an entirely new role as before moving to Hampshire in May of this year , Mrs Brookfield who lives in Chandlers Ford , had been Deputy Commissioner of St. John in Jersey.
subject of ran k for "paramedics" until we have the recomme n dations.
[ do agree with you that fu ll y q ua if ed paramed cs w h o are members of the Brigade have a very impol·tant !"Ole to play in our activit es, and suitable recognition of their status should be made trust that this will give assurance that we have t h e "paramedics" problem we ll in mind and w ll alTive at a so ution acceptable to everyone.
Mrl CH Moody Commissioner-in-Chief, NHQ
In Defence of the White Bag
Dear Editor
I think th e proposed replace m ent of the w hit e bag b y th e Can ad i an st y e
behalf of Pcmg boL('rn e Quad. Divis i on
The who e q uestion of the status and recogn it io n of "paramed ics" is one that we are a ready lookin g into As [ stated at the Harrogate Conference appropriate recognition w ll be made on uniform and how this shou d b e do n e is bei n g studied by the Regulations and Dress Revision Committee at the present time.
So ar as rank is concerned, a Committee unde r h e Chairmansh p of Mr John Paterson s looking into the whole structure of rank and u n iform in he Brigade and it wou d not be appropriate to make any decision on the
24 St. Jghn World
ve ni en size, ab e o co nt a i n a ra ir va r ie ty of F irs A d co nsum abl es. e no ugh fO!" a good day's du y w ith o ut th e n eed for co ntinu al re-stock in cr A n y ot her bag or a sma [e si ze Ill ay n in suff c ent ava il abilit y o r bas c dress in gs and bandages. A no the r bag of a si cr ni r ca nt[ y wo ul d probab l y be t o
ca rr y ar o un d.
Th e w hi te bag's wh ite rap is of' great
va lu e. n o t on y does it show up we ll aga in s th e ·es or the unifo rm , t all ows th e bag o be eas il y p cked u p and ca rr ied. T h bag m ay be
eas il y m oved and ca rri ed to suit he i m med ate l oca co nd iti o ns ( tr ail seats do no t usua ll y all ow h e bag to re m ain ove r th e en bUll ock).
Th e bag m ay aL 0 be br ou ght r o un d n ro n of th e irsL ai d er enab li ng easy access to th e b ag's co nt en ts and c ea r v i s on o the f nd ng of th e wa nt ed it em
A be lt m o unt ed bag m ay prove d ff i c ult t o m ove so read ly. U nl ess th e bag s ve ry l gh t th e e as Li ca teci be lt w i be use ess , req uiri ng a m o re sub s anti a l be lt an d bu ck e. A n y res tri c ti o n t o th e ease o f access to th e b ag s co nt en t s w [1 res ult in an avo da bl e d el ay in th e trea tm ent of a cas ua ty, bes des ook in g unp rofess o n al. A ar ge bag m o unt ed o n th e be lt co uld we ll snag in doo r ways 01· any o th e r p laces o r rest ri c ted w idth. m ak in g us app ea r in co
The Regulation and Dress Revision Comrn chaired by the Superlntendent-in-Chief ha received several comments from Counties regarding the future of the
discussed at the CommiSSioners Symposl u and subsequently the views of Counties h been requested, It IS not pOSSible to the outcome at present.
Manager, Central Services,
Blowing
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Jerusalem
Hospita' Bed Endowment
The Hospital is fortunate in hGlving the services of Lady Cathcart in t he Chair of the Ladies Guild. Her involvement began in 1985 Clnd has to-date been responsible for the endowment of six beds at the Hospital. Pictured above w ith Sir Godfrey Milton-Thompson, Lady Cathcart is presenting a cheque for £85,000 to the Hospitaller for t he endowment of another bed.
Nursing Bright Futures
Mary Manarious is Principal Tutor for the Hospital's School of Nursing. Apart from seveA years spent in training in the UK, Mary has worked at the Ophthalmic Hospital since she joined as a student nurse in 1964.
She commenced offering training at the Hospital in the 1980s and has since bui lt up a highly regarded and uniql1e Nursing Sclc100l f (gr Pales1i niGlns. Some 13 studef)ts are selected each year from arou'Ad 300 app icants. They undertake two years training - 18 mOf)ths general nursing and 6 months ophthalmic nursing before they can sit exams to become Li censed Practical Nurses. Some will remain at work at the Hospita whi lst others wil l return to work if) t heir communities.
Mary was born in Jerusalem and still lives in the Old city with h( husband and two sons. "I have seen over the years the contributi o the Hospital has made to the people here," she says, "and I al very proud to have been part of this The nursing school is the on opportunity for many young people here to enter our professio and it is such a valuable way of investing in the future of 11 Hospital and the welfare of our population."
Any Division interested in sponsoring a nurse through H Training School should contact Sylvia Holmes at NHQ
Calling all Councils
A Member of the st. John Council for County Durham since 19 and a Knight of the Order of st. John, Colonel Hugh Kirton is keen supporter of the Hospital. As Chairman of his Council fr e 1974 to 1986 he realised first hand how the Hospita l can easil y overlooked by The Order in the Counties in favour of its fel l( foundation On a recent visit to Jerusalem he reflected on how 1 Order and its members can support the work of the Hosp ital.
"I had been caring for my disabled sister for five years until \ year when she went into a residential home and suddenly I co take a holiday. I had recently received a letter from the Lord p urging Order members to visit the Hospital so I decided to make ' trip as part of a tour of Israel organised by my local church " M visitors seeing the work first hand find it a fascinating experie' that really brings home how much support is needed. Many t the inspiration home with them "Order members should visi t Hospital if they can," says Colonel Kirton
On a collective level The Order in the UK can help also Chairman of Council for County Durh.:.lm," he says, "I real when I studied our regulations that our remit was to support work of The Order in all its forms and that was to include the foundations, the Ambulance and the Hospital. This was bro than I realised as the reports we received were mostly baseo Brigade work and no-one spoke out about the Hospital as muc l fell to me as Chairman to remind ourselves of this role. The HOIf is first rate so it has not found it difficult to drum up support. l year our Council puts on a fundraising event for both founda l which attracts both donors who want to support local comm u work and those who feel more drawn to overseas aid. Peo fascinated to learn how the two foundations evolved and to about the roots of st. J8hlil, it was a successful partnership an right to look beyond our immediate County needs. Order C have a responsibility to support both foundations."
City Extravaganza!
It was a co ld rainy 13 November but the crowds ignored the e lements and tumed out in their thousands to witness one of the brightest , coloUl-fu processions to date. Chi dren screamed and applauded the clowns and there was an air of fu n and satisfaction as the noats made their way through the streets.
The origins of the Lord Mayor' s Show lie in King John s Charter of 1215 which granted the citizens of London the right to choose their own fir t citizen on the understanding that he was presented to the
Queen's Bench Division. On h is way to the Roya l Co urts the Lord Mayor is b lessed by t he Dean of St. Paul s.
Sr. John Ambu lance London Di trict not only provided First Aid cover but a lso took a noat in the procession. Representatives from overseas inc luding Swazjland, Canada and Ma lta all he lped to man the noat in keep in g with t he overseas theme fo r this years' show - none of whom see ned to notice the rain and co ld amidst the festivities.
ST. JOHN WINS TOP CAN RECYCLING AWARD
More than ten tonnes of o l d cans collecte d by St. John Ambulance in the Winchester City and District Division have helped the d ivision win a top e n vironmenta l award.
Winche ter City and District Div ision received a Certificate of Merit in the Colonel Sanders EnvironlliiI enta l Awards 1993 and thei r work in nhe cause of conservation has a lso bee n
recognised by Safeway who have donated £400 to the local SI. John.
The division began recyc l ing a l uminium and stee cans early in 1991 i n conjunction with Winc!le tel' City Counci l who have provided bins in their car parks, as have Spar holt Co ll ege, IBM and Sparkes Garden Centre.
"There were over 350 entries fo r
the award which aims to encourage groups to help improve their local environment." said St. John Appeals Chairman David Ball. Like all Divisions we must raise fund for First Aid eq u ipment through donations from the public and this imaginative scheme will continue to provide a vita l financia l resource in Winchester," he added.
The recently puMished Annual Report of the Health and Safety Commission shows that the Iilumber of deaths from accidents at work has been reduced to the lowest on record.
Sir John Cullen HSC Chairman until the end of September 1993 said , " Both the number of fatal injurie s and the f a tal injury rate are likely to be the lowe s ever repo rted The rate of fatal alD cidents js expected to be 1.3 per 100 000 employees , geNerally le s s than a quarter of IJho se at the beginning of the 1960 's and les s than malf of that im the ealily 1970 's Thi s is the third s uccessive year in which the rate has fallen".
8 St. Johm World
Sailing Trust launches Team Build Venture
Provisional statistics for 1992193 in the report include:
• • There were 430 fatalities in the workplace, accidents to employees, the self employed and members of the public; 28,018 major injuries, such as broken limbs,
•
Would any Divisions
Woodfalls Win County Badger Challenge
National Trust Ousted from Top
The Save the Children fund has ousted the National Trust as Britain's top fund-raising charity , according to the 1993 annual survey of the charity sector, Charity Trends.
Ambulance Feature Driving Forces
Building Bridges
Recently the small division of Melbourne, South Derbyshire, cemented its relation s hip with the local high sc hool , Chellaston School. An eight-strong heam of Brigade members took on the challenging task of teaching the teachers, as they led a series of workshops and lectures on Emergency Aid for Schools.
Out and About
M emb ers of Me lb ou rn e Di vis on pi ctur ed with the Fir e Se rv ce durin g a Fir s Aid d emo n strati on at a loca l ca rnival.
The seventy teachers and school s taff, brou g ht tog e th e r for thi s special tr a ining day re sponded enthu s ia s tic a l1y to the divi s ion 's efforts. The majority h ad little or no pre v iou s Firs t Aid experience, but the y rap idly gained competence a nd co nfide nce in re s uscit a tion procedures and management of common emergenc ies. They were ab le to demonstrate their new knowledge a t the end of the co ur se, in a nail-biting soe nario s ession.
The fo und atio n s of su c h a venture h ad been laid month s befor e, when the division had been involved in teaching bas c li fe s uppOrl! skill s to st ud e nt s, as part of their social ed u ca tion a nd c iti ze ns hip course. Th e teachers involved, reali sing how pitifully inade quate their own knowledge was requested First Aid training for themselves - an idea welcomed by Melbourne Division.
A bridge has been built linkin g the s chool with the divi s ion to the i r mutual benefit and the division hop es to provide ongoin g training for staff and pupil s, including t h e introduction of the Three Cross Award Scheme. In return t he gra nt-maintained sc hool h as donated a s um o f money badly need ed to purchase two n ew rad io s for the division 's public dutie s, and has offere d the divi s ion use of its computer laboratory and access to teaching a id s It appears the bridge will be crossed in both in year s to come , a nd s u c h a link between a division and a sc hool offer s marvellou s opportunities for public rel
ig n b y reject in g a n y ho\\ ple as ur e or e nj oy m e nt. Thi h as m ea nt th a t w he rea previous there mi g ht h ave b ee n p a rti es a nd fairy li g hts, th ese are orr frowned upon. How eve r, with th e e uph o ri a indu ced by th e Pe a.
Talk th e re h as bee n so m e re axa tion in th e s tri ct ur es.
Des pi te the C hri st a n min o rity a nd a lo n g w ith the other in s titution s of J er u sa le m s u ch a th e Cons ul a tes Ge n e ra th e Brili School of Arch eo logy , th e An gli can Cath e dr a a nd th e Angli c School th e Ho s pit a l do es m ake effo rt s to m ark thi s mo t imp orl 3 e v e nt of the ca le ndar.
Thi year for th e f irs t time of th e s i x years of the Intifa da rhe tree, almos t as hi g h as th e Ho s p tal and o ut s id e th e fr ont do o r II dr essed with a s pecta c ul ar array of li g hts.
Christmas da y w ith in th e Ho s pital is u s ually qui e t and moSI the patient s on the wards do not quite know what is go in g o n n bh e childlielil in particul ar who s how wide-eyed s urpri se as each given a pre ent of a s mall cudd l y toy the lik e of w hi c h th ey ha n e v e r seen before. The adult pati e nt · are g iv e n a s mall pre se nt an[ s pecia l dinner. A s thi s is a C hri s tian F eas t nhe wards are staff almo st e ntire ly by Mo s e m nur ses.
Thi s year a lthou g h e uph o ria over the Peace T
greate r hop e for Peace in th e Middle East h a n for a very lon g February 19:
At least as badly hit by the cold blast of winds .c?mmercial organIsations, St. John DIVISIOns and counties who are contemplating buying ambulances have more reason than ever to shop carefully. Fortunately, the ambulance market continues to broaden, with vehicles available to suit just about any budget. We spoke with some of the industry's leading suppliers to see what they feel they have to offer St. John in 1994.
Pathfinder
QlJite an I " ear y victim of the recessIOn was leading ambulance Mountain Range - a name well known in St. John Circles whe th " re elr vehicles had a strong following. Although the ongmal Mountain Range company closed at the start of 1992, a new firm P thf'
"i don' t think theTe are man y body-builrlers in nhe coun tFy that can offeT St. Ji ohn the sam e le vel of value ifl1>T money a s w e can. We are always aware that v oluntary organi s ation s are reliant on contributions so have to get the very be s t value for money and our pricing policy reflects that requirement. "
WS Coachbuilders
Probably s till better known a s Wadham-Strin ger WS Coachbuilders are one of the major UK s uppliers, a nd a f irm favourite among St. John Divi s ion s and countie s. Their late st GRP ambulances the MIAB/WS are available on a va riet y of chas s is t ypes, a re cent example being one s upplied to St. John Hersham Divi s ion on a Peugeot Talbot cha ssi s, which WS s a y ha s a pa rt icularly intere s ting internal la yout , reflecting th e ' wid e va riety of dutie s perfolTIled by a typical S t. John Divi s ion
Usefully, WS have two demon s tration vehicle s avail a ble for St. John members to in spect - one a P e ugeot Talbot MIAB/W , the other bas ed on a Renault Mas ter. WS are al s o one of th e tw o major suppliers of Mercede s -Benz-ba s ed ve hicle s.
Premier Hazard
L eeds-based Premier Hazard , manufactl!lrelis of vehicle warnin g equipment celebrated their tenth annivers ary in 1993 h a vin g gone through five moves in the company 's existence , each time to larger premises Almost co-inciding with the compan y's birthday they amlOunced that they had won the contract for th e design and manufacture of the AA 's new lightb ar whi c h feature s a sp ecially designed c entre s ign mounted in the new AA cOFporate green The lightbar ha s a s trong extruded aluminium base and UV stahl ilised pGllycarbonate len ses which have been des igned not to f ade under the influe mce of sunlig h t.
Premier Hazard's Market i ng Manager , Louise Gardner s ay s , " We're the major British manufacturer of lightbars with ju st about any configuration possible to suit the u ser 's specification s The poss ibilitie s which exist with our two lightbar range s are just about infimite, so whatever s omeone w ant s we c an aecomod ate them. "
Premier Ha zard s sales literature s how s a bewildering array of prodl!lct s to back the company's cJ.ai m s In addition to two lightbar range s they offer vehicle,-based public address s y s tems rotating warning beacons and complete range of both portable and fixed lighting equipment.
12 St. John Wo rr l€t
PREMIER HAeRD
THE U.K's LEADING MANUFACTURER AN O SUPPLIER OF EMERGENCY VEHICLE WARNING EQUIPMENT
BOTH AVAILABLE WITH
o n w ith Me rcedes and base d 0 Merce de s 3 10/3 1OD
In add iti on to Me rce des- base d ve hicl es, Cu sto mlin e offer La bodies o n a va ri e ty of c hass is includin g Ford Trans it s l veco Fo and Ley land DAFs " Our Laze r bod y is co ns ipe red by many to state of bhe art ," Reg Hallil ey says , " in th at it 's GRP on a sta inl
Dormobile
wi
"
Heaton Vehicles
U nu s ually, Heaton has
its
out a niche in the €ntertainment market too, having s upplied the ambulan c e s f or a ll three films in TV 's Prime Suspect serie s as well a s som e of the ambulances for London's 13uming , Children 's Ward and C asualty " If we tum
HEATONS MOTOR COMPANY
SLS
uppl y in g v an c on ve r sio n s, ty pic a ll y
Renaul t Mas te rs a nd Ford Tran s it s, into th e form re quire d , which can ra n ge fro m a minibu s rig h t up
with
because they are a moulded shape to fit the interim. 'JIhat is a hig part: of our busifuless Am0Illg thleir regwtar orders, SLS afe about to start work on a new vehie1e fer St. John StaffO']i<ishire, whicfu will be a Talbot Express 4x4 converted into an accident and emergency vehicle.
Pilcher-Greene
Pilcher-Greene are anoth€r of the U.K.'s longer established ambulance producers, having been in the business since 1920s C urrent ly their productlon is predomiNately accessible b uses, am bulances afld fir€ appliances, although they have also made satellite communication vehicles, blood banks, veterinary dini{;s and mammography units.
A. B .S.l. registered firm, with customers throughout the U.K and overseas, Pilcher-Greene's ambulances are offered on all the major manufacturer's chassis induding Ford, Leyland OAF, M@rcedes-Benz, Rena\!llt and Iveco. Also in the range are four wheel drive chassis, baseCii on, among ethers, Land Rovers. The says it believes that, in total, it has probably built more (;ivi lian Land Rover ambulances than anyone else.
Altho ugh many of Pilcher-Greene's products are to standard specifications, they place a major emphasis on discussing the detai ls of each customer's order, in order to optimise the vehicle to s uit the client.
MMB International
Altho ugh the majority of their business lies in export, MMB's Managing Director, Graham Hibbert reports that they do a lot of bysiness with St. John divisions. "We like to think of ourselves as th€ leading specialists in off-road ambulances," he says.
"Probab ly about 80% of the ambl!llances we build being fOU whee] Ciiifive - Lafuldl Rovers, UMMs, American D®dges others."
Recent St. John customers for MMB International ha w incl uded St. John Pershore, Leicester, Shropshire, Guernse y Carterton and Brize Norton and a healthy list of others. "In thf past," Graham Hibbert says, "we've supplied vehicles Crawley and Gatwick, Liverpool, St Ives in ComwaU and Looe the list seerns to go on and on "
PILCHER GREENE. BUILDING VEHICLES FOR LIFE .
People keep com i ng t o us for to detail required in creating purpose-made something
Aside from our wheel drive vehicles, and possibly of evei greater interest to the less well-off St. John divisions , is MMB ' Vauxhall Midi ambulance, Graham Hibbert exp lains. "It worK out at least half the price of a conventional Transit or Rena u type ambulance and is very economical to operate We do quil a number of those for St. John because it means they can affm a new vehicle for the price they were paying for a high secondhand one."
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Nicho
Char les W e therill Ridley Lin cs
37. Christopher David Stewart Berkshire
AS SUB-CHAPLAIN
38. T he Revd Thomas Bernard Fe li x Hi n ey MC London
AS SERVING BROTHER OR SISTER
39. Kenneth M iddleton Young CBE POAC
40. W0 2 Do ug las Jam es Green Essex
41. Jam es Boyd Napier Leics
42. Janet Frances D eni se, The H on Mrs Berry London
43. John Oakden London
44. A lfred George A ndr ews Staffs
45. Jeanetta A nn , Mrs H ay ler Devon
46. Paul William Hunt West Midlands
47. Gordon Sid ney R atman DL London
48. Vera Jean , Mrs Jone s Devon
49. Rob ert Ian Conner A von
50. Charles H e nry Derrick A von
51. Eveline Margaret, Mr s Parkin RGN Devon
52. Robert John Stanley Avon
53. Colin Francis Pittam Bucks
54 Ja smine Christine Mrs William s Devon
55. Ant hony Andrew Rush B ucks
56 Guy F ran c is MIOT FETC Cambs
57. Phylli s Marion, Mrs Lawry Dorset
58. Bnan William Hackman MB C hB Dob s Cambs
59 Anthony William H irst JP Cambs
60. Bronw en Margaret Mrs Sprake s Dorset
61. J ohn Ant ho ny McGlade Cambs
62. Francis Hon'ice C ow Essex Elsie Beatrice
Dear Ediror.
Since becoming involved with the Guildford Division of St. John particularly in the role of Store-Keeper, I have gained much pleasure in finding a useful occupation in my retirement , not least, among a highly efficient gathering of members
Having performed a similar task for many years with my ATC Unit in Kingston I thought then that the variety of uniform s tyle s and in s ignia was considerable but in Sr. John, I discovered an even greater variety was e ss ential to the well-dressed member and with the newcomer s, th e demands for uniforms and badge s are only acquired through the excellent co-operation from St. John Supplies in London who achieve great things in a highly efficient manner. My thank s to them all.
The only criticism one can make s that we don t seem to have enough hours in th e day in which to fulfil our obligations , though obviously this problem must be inherent in all divisions.
May we continue to strive in a worthy cause.
Basil Beagent (S.K) Guildford
Learning and Breathing Life
Accidents do happen ,
To those in every trade, So prepare for them by doing , A 'St. John course in First Aid
When a casualty s discovered, Or someone's feeling ill, Then you may have a chance to use Your knowledge and your skill.
First, assess the situation, If no danger you can see, Then get your act together, And do your ABC.
You reassure the casualty, And say he'll soon be fine, Then get someone to quickly run, And dial 999.
Look for signs and symptoms, Let onlookers air their views, For to make a diagnosis, You need history ' and clues.
24 St. John World
If you find that Ine 's uncons c ious , Don t stand t here mou nh agape',
Try to find the rea ons, They ' re bound to be 'fis h- s haped
If you find that th ere 's no breathing,
And a pul se you can not trace,
You only have three minute s,
So you have no tim e to wa s te.
Ventilation and compression, Are the next for you to do ,
So pinch the no se a nd do it
At the rate of 15 /2.
Li s t up a ll your finding s,
And try to keep a not e,
Remember it yo ur duty
To preserve , prevent , promote.
Wrap him in a blanket ,
To prevent him gett in g colder
Remember that one und e r , I s worth three around the hould ers!
If you think you've found a fracture
Then let me give you a hint
Immobili e it quickly , Using the body a s a sp lint.
You may s us pect a heart attack,
You ll see him turning blue, Use a half s itting po s ition
And pop a hat upon hi s head.
For sprains and stra in s and brui s ing ,
Plea se take this advice ,
R ed uce the pain and s welling
By treating it with 'rice '
Bum s and sca ld s are painful
To make the sympto m s lessen ,
Flush copiously with water
And cover with a dressing.
Bleeding can fatal, So must be treated soo n ,
So get a pad , and put so me
Direct pre ss ure on the wound
Check for s hock - the demon
That accompanies all ill s, Do not treat it lightly , For remember - s hock can kill.
Don t think your efforts are in vain, Keep on throu g h toil and strife
For you ' ll feel so reward ed,
When you s ave somebody's life!
(Tlilis was by a young woman who attended a Breath of Life Course and wanted to express how worthwhile she felt it was).
Do You Ma
This Noble Band
An o rg ani s ation in th e town has g rown throu g h man y years,
providing h e lp in m any way s, dispellin g m a n y fear s
St. John is the nam e, ye t flush e d with fame, th e training e ve r s ur e, and uho se who h a v e th e tim e o g iv e are a lw ays giv in g mor e.
So many in thi s la nd toda y, co mpl a in of intere t lacking ,
for ge ttin g that in hour of nee d , Sl. John has go t their backin g.
Around thi s is a nd , Unit s tri ve, th e le ng h a nd breadth of Brit a in, ]n qu a rter s often cramped , it s h a rd to ev en sw in g a kitten
So think on thi s to tho se w ho as k " Wh at ca n I do for o th e rs" ?
BECOME A MEMBER OF ST. JOHN THIS HAPPY BREED OF BROTHERS.
Basil Beagent (S.! GuiLdford Divi s;
Luck of the Draw
W e ge t of lot of le tt e rs - rubbi s h m a il and bill ga lor e!
But littl e did w e rea li se w he n yo ur s came through the door ,
That thi s one wa s a re a ltrear, a s ig ht to pl ease the eyes,
My ticket in yo ur Grand Draw has won Prize.
So thank vhe organiser a nd donators ofth1 g ift s,
To me it was SOp well spe nt And in making the deci s ion I'll c hoo se th e te ev s ion
I'm s ure with that I'll be content
Mrs Pat WilIial1' (Haplpy winner of the 4th prize 1993 Grand Ruffle. The prize choice between a colour TV or a recorder kindly donated by Greenh i Trading Ltl February
5. How would you recognise if a casualty had inhaled a foreign
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History of G"%" Medic"' Centre
Tawfik Abu Ghazalah owns the premises in which the Gaza Med cal Centre is based A awyer by profession , Tawfik met wi th representatives from st. John n February 1992 when they looking for a suitable site in Gaza to build a medical centre Tawfik des igned he structural plan of the bui ding
X-RGly equip
m e n t in use in t h e Medica l Centre.
Most of Tawfik s fami ly are involved in the medical field; hi s father, b rother and da u gh t er are a l pharmacists a nd hi s father was the fir st person to open a pharmacy in Gaza (opened in 1933) It had been his dream to build a medical centre
The bui lding hou ses a number of med ica faci l itie s i nclud ng an orthopaedic hospital, a gynaecology department , X-r ay acili t ies, a paediatric departmen t and a neuro-surgeon
The cent re ope n ed in 19 89 when the f irst clinic opened its d oors. Since then other c inic s have gradually been added to it, b ut it remains the only medica centre of its kind in Gaza Tawfi k funded t he entire conversion of the bu lding himself and t he equipment was purchased by the indiv dual cl n ics
Tawfik feels that a CT scan is the ne xt " mu st" for t he cl in ic. A t the moment pa t ients requiring a scan must tra vel to EI Makasid Hospi t al in Jerusalem or to Tel Aviv
His ong-term a m is " t o give more inde p endence to the p eop le h ere in terms o f services available anq the upgrading of exis ing services "
'Miracle' Technology · Returns Sight
Blind ed fi ve yea rs ago by lim e du st , Moh am ed Nassar aged 12, had suff ered se vere scar ring o f t h e co rn ea, caus i ng a white o pa que ap pe ara nce n h is eye s Wi th v rt u all y n o sig ht he had t o b e accompanie d everyw here an d was bei n g educated at a
4 St. John World
school f or the bl in d . Docto rs at th e hospital ha d conside ca rrying out a corne al gr aft but due t o the se veri y o f scarring, the large b ood ve ss el s that w ere cove rin g his eyes the fact that th e ey es we re dryas a resu lt o f t h e sca r rin g, dec ided aga ins t it. Thi s, co u p led w ith the fact t h at d co rneal m ateri al is a so very sca rce and is usual ly reserved pat ent s fro m wh om a goo d res ul t is expected meant M oh amed was not co n si d er ed suita bl e for this treatment.
Doctors dec ided t o i nstead sh ave the scars from t h e front' his eyes using th e 'ex c mer la ser'. In less than one minute had bee n removed and within mi nute s he could rea d p art of way down the eye ch art.
It is hoped that Moh am ed wi ll eventua ll y be ab le to read t ake up a n or m al educat ion.
Foreign Secretary Visits Eye Hospital
On Jan u ary 5 , h e Br t is h Fore ign Sec re t ary , Mr Hu rd and Hurd ac companied by the Br i is h C on sul Gene ral and Dalt o n w ith mo st of the Con sul a r Staff f ro m East Je ru vi sited the s t. John Ophthalmic Cl n ic on Te lat een St re et
There w as a parti c ul a r y heavy Israe li sec urity pr ese n ce th e v isit or s reque st s to ke e p it to a m i nimum Mr showed a great intere st in the wo r k of the c linic and ap impressed by the quant it y and qua l it y o th e work u taken
After meeting member s of staff he vi sit ed t he m operat i ng theatre where a cataract operation w as ju st fin ' He was particula r ly amu sed to hear that the o perating mobi e as thi s s not apparen t when ent e ring the v an inside the clinic.
At a news cO rl ference later that day Mr Hurd criticise d administrat on of Gaza and pointed out th at action need ed be taken concerning the health, population and vi problem s in Ga za. He a so paid tribute to the work of the eli
Many peop le be li e ve th a t tr o kes affec t on ly he e de rl y. S ad ly ove r 100 ,000 young peo p le a yea r a re a ffec ted by th s devas tatin g ill ne s. A new bo ok le t
Strok e in You nge r Ad ul s' , ex p la in s the ca u e of s tro kes a nd g iv es t ip on rec ov e ry Fo r a co py, se nd a c hequ e!PO for SOp to T h e St r o k e Assoc iat io n , CHSA H o us e, W hi tecros s St r eet , Lo nd o n Eel Y 8JJ
VitalJ1in Link With Spina Sifida
Eat in g more of t he v ita m n fo li c ac id before a wom a n fa ll s preg na n t co ul d reduce the c ha nc es of hav in g a ba by uffe ring f rom p in a b if id a, acc ordin g o reoe nn UK t ri a l As p in a bi fid a a cond ition wh e re ve rt e br ae f a i to de ve lop leav in g th e s pi na l co rd ex pos e d occ ur wit hin three week of co nc e pti o n th e De part me nt o f H ea lth reco mm e nd s th a t
wom e n who are tr yi ng fo r a ba by tak e at least 400mc g o f fo li c ac id - the dai ly ave rage is 200m cg.
As mo re ha n 50 pe r ce n t: of IiJregna nc ies a re unp la n ned , it rec ol11mend ab le t hat a ll wo me n of c h ild - beari n oag e a so in c rease t he ir in ta ke to
Breath of Fresh Air
If yo u re f ee lin g j aded g ive yo ur se lf a q u ic k bo o t of e ner gy b y takin g a d ee p brea t h a nd im ag in e it r us hin g th rou g h yo ur who e bod y ik e a w in d, e n live nin g eve ry part of yo u -fro m yo ur head to yo ur finge r a nd toe s Brea th e o ut a nd re la x
Keyhole
Surgery-
What is it?
I n Key ho le Surge ry, o pe ra ti o n ar e ca n ed o u th ro ug h a ma ll inc is io n in the s kin - ab o ut I c m w id e.
A m in ute te le c opic in str um e nt , ca ll ed a la ro cop e, i inse rt ed in to the c ut in o rd e r to s how the ar ea to the s u rge on by mea ns of a mo n itor. U in g th e e p ic tur es, th e s ur geo n th e n ca lTi es o u t the op e ratio n, us in g a lase r to do the c uttin g a nd to re du ce the s ize of a ny la rge g rowt hs, a nd s o o n tha t nee d to be re mov ed. O nce t he op er at io n is f ini s hed , the c ut is s t itc hed up
T he ad vanta ges of suc h a sm a ll c ut a re
th a t rec ove ry t im e and scarrin g are great ly redu ce d , wh ic h is g oo d new s for th e pati e nt.
Th e nu mbe r of operatio ns s u itable f o r key hole s urge ry is in c reasi ng. Th o se now ava il a b le incl ude :
• Hys te rectom y
• Herni a co rr ec t ion
• A rte ry clea rin g
• R e mo val of g row th s s uch as f ib roid , kidn ey s to nes as well as s om e c an cers
• Operat io ns lik e app e ndec o m y
SEX and Your HEART
J am es M ull e r of
Deaco ness Ho s p ita l
s
n, Ma ssac hu se tts. says t ha t pe op le w ho have had heart a rr ac ks s hou ld no t be de te rr ed f rom ha v in g sex. In h is s tud y of 1,663 peop le recove rin g f rom
tta c ks, he fo un d th a t on ly 1.5 per
nt had s uffe re d a heart a tt ac k beca use of
alth o ug h 76 1 we re sex ua ll y ac ti ve . M ull e r s f in d ings re vea led th a t a ltho ug h sex ual ac ti v ity can tr igge r a hear t att ack in vu ln e rab le peop le, it is safe r th an a fit of a nger , ex tre me p hy ca l e xe rtion or s imply ge ttin g out of be d in th e morn in g.
FURRY FRIEND for Sick Childr n
For weeks prior to Chri stma s the member s of Hull Reckitts Divi s ion were concerned about all the children who would be spending Christma. in their local ho sp ital, Th e Royal Hulllnfirm ary. So, divisional members and friends gOI together and talted a 'toy' appeal.
Just
Desperately Seeking DORIS
Doris Zinkeisen has left us with a mystery. In 1942 a novel form of exhibition created by this artist, toured the country raising money for The British Prisoner of War Fund. Three-dimensional models skillfully brought to life the spirited war work of The Order of St. John and the British Red Cross Society.
A model of the Kni g ht s Ho spi taller treating th e s ick s how s the tradition inspirin g St. John Closer to home pristine V ADs bustle efficiently in an airy ho s pital ward. In another diaroma, nurses work along side doctors, giving the total co nc ent ra tion demanded by lifesaving s urgery. A further sce ne depicts ambulances beneath th e darkened sky of a bombed city and re sc ue team clambering over the ruins. Other types of war work are not forgotten. Parcel packers work d iI gelll iy. The cheerfu I colours of their civilian clothes see m a sign of defiant refusal to give into gloomy thought s. The final in the series shows a convalescent home. Sunshine on the broad green swee p of lawn - what a welcome ight for the wounded so ldiers sitting peacefully under the tree!
Ahead
March 1¢
This was one of her most unusual war project s, combining her renown e d talents as a theatrical set designer with her documentary skills. Until recently, it was believed to have been lost. A surprise phone call to the museum brought u s a s tep closer to tracking down the original models. In the House of Lords , over tea and cucumber sa ndwiches with Lord and Lady Westbury , the preliminary designs were generously offered to the Museum. The safe guarding of thi s important part of St. John history was thu en ured.
Now we know what the models look like in detail, it is even more tantalising that we have yet to uncover their whereabouts. Could they be in some division 's store or housed in some private collection? Are there any papers , letters or news cuttings that could provide the vital clue to their present location? Can YOU help to solve the Doris Zinkei sen mystery? The Museum is awaiting your call. Tel: 071 253 6644 or write to: The Museum, St. John 's Gate, St. John 's Lane, Clerkenwell, London ECIM 4DA.
ST.JOHN IFESAVE 5
Badger Saves Friend's Life
Th e bravery of eight yea r old Mat th ew Bas tin a member of Willin gdon and Polega te St. John Amb ulan ce Badge rs who sa ved th e life of anoth er e ght yea r old was recog ni se d with an offi cial awa rd for brave ry. A group of child re n were att endin g a birth day swimmin g part y wh en Chri stoph er Bond a non· wimm er becam e detac hed from hi s fl oa t, stru gg led and sa nk to th e bott om of th e poo l. Matth ew noti ced so methin g und er th e wa ter, di ved and di scove red Chri top her. He surfaced and ca ll ed for help before div in g thr ee more tim es befo re he brought Chri stoph er to the surface
With th e help of anoth er eight-year-o ld, Jeremy Forre ter, Matth ew dr agged Chri topher out of th e wale r As Matth ew chec ked th e cas ualt y to beg in mout h- to- mouth res u citat ion , Chri stoph er start ed brea thin g
On arri va l of th e ambul ance Chri stopher rece ived oxyge n and was tra n fe lTed to ho pital where he was de tain ed fo r 24 ho ur. Th ankfull y, he ha sin ce made a ful l recove ry.
Th e Let ter of Co mm enda ti on wa pre ented by Ni ge l Waterso n MP
Student Bravery Rewarded
n t brea thin g , a nd bega n mouth-to-m o uth res usc ita ti o n
Bret t 's lifesav in g ac tion s we re recogn ised wh e n he was prese nted with the St. John Ambul a nce Me ritorio us Firs t A id Certifi ca te by G rea te r M a nc hes te r Co mma nder a nd fonner County Police Chi ef Sir Jame s Anderton
St. Jo hn Spok es m a n for Grea e r Man c he s ter Ia n Mo ss sa id , " With o ut a do ubt it wa s Bre tt 's pro mpt use of Firs t A id which sa ved h is f ri e nd 's l ife. T he cert if icate is not a n a ward we ha nd o ut li ght ly ."
Six Year Old Saves Mother's Life
SPECIAL INVESTITURE
Vera Todd of Tynedal Grange, Haltwhistle was invested into The Order of St. John as a Serving Sister at a special ceremony held at the Mansion House, Newcastle in November, 1993. The Chief Commander Sir David Parry-Evans conducted the service.
Vera , who retired from Haltwhistle Comb in ed Division at the end of 1992 was honoured in recognition of her length of service to St. John Ambulance.
Awarding Vera the insignia of The Order of St. John , the Chief Commander said, "I was delighted to be asked to perform this Investiture but I stress that I
A Brick in the Hand...
OAP Saved by Youngsters
Three yo un g ter aved Ih e life of a Ca rdiff pensioner who had co ll apsed be hin d th e Fairwater Socia l Club in Pl as mawr, Ca rMf Steph en Tay lor, Matth ew Bib y and Matth ew HalT Y ran for help , retumin g with a blank et to kee p th e wo man wa rm whil t wa itin g fo r th e emerge ncy serv ices to arri ve. The first two peo pl e th e boys approached for help did n' t beli eve th em so th ey were fo rced 10 knoc k on doo rs until eve ntu all y someone answe red Steph en Tay lor aged 14, th ought th e wo man was dead wh en th ey fir t found her but
to give his mother , Andrea aged 28 some milk with s ugar, but eve ntua ll y p honed for an ambulance telling the operator "My mummy 's fallen as leep. "
"I wo uld not be here now if it was not for Luke ," sai@ Andrea. "} ca nn ot get over Inow ca lm he was when he to ld nhem his name a nd address, " she added.
Hampshire St. John Ambulance are working tow ards a £55,000 target to refurbish their County Headquarters and thanks to two recent cash injections totalling £32,000, they are a step closer to reachi ng that target.
The lo ca l County Council handed over £5,000 towards the constr uctural overhaul
Police
Chief In spector Colin Francis has
Patrick Wright Rcgis/mr
his services as former head of Her Maiesty 's Diplomatic Service.
Westbury Cliairll/all o/S/)('cia/ [1'('1/1 1.
March 1994
was not acting by virtue of my office but on behalf of Her Majesty The Queen, the Sovereign Head of The Order." and a bequest of £27,000 made up the remainder. In addition, local community members have made a commitment to rai se another £8,000. The rest will be funded by an appeal to local organisations and businesses in the area.
Councillor Michael Hancock , Leader of Hampshire s County Council handed over the £5 ,000 cheque to St. John Ambulance Commander Brian Orange and later tried his bricklaying skills under the supervision of Bricklayer Keith Hunt.
Commander Orange expressed his deep appreciation of the Council ' s support, he said, "Without the continuous generosity of Hampshire County Council for suc h projects, it would be very difficult for us to give the service to the community that St. John Ambulance offers in the provision of First Aid at public events and training in the area. "
MBE
Mrs N G Ford De/II/I.'" (o/ll/llis lio/l('r. AWII
Mr K W Looseley Dirisiol/lIl ()flinT For ser\'ice\ to sport and LOlldoll District.
Mrs P W Love Diri lio/lll/ Sup('rilll(,IIc/('II/ Il'ttlltll/ & Dislrid Quat/rila/('m/ Diri liol/. /)('rhnliin'
First Class Driving
Julian Herbert of Cleveland St. John Ambulance is the first winner of the Land Rover "Wor ld Driver of the Year" Awa rd. The award recognises the best performance of bravery, achievement or service in a Land Rover vehicle - Defender, Discovery or Range Rover, by members of the emergency and voluntary services.
Julian Herbert , CSO Operations in Cleveland , took first prize in the Blue Light' category Mainly used at off-road events such as scrambles , point-to-points, sandyachr racing and motor-rallies , his vehicle is an Alpha Bravo 101; a custombuilt long wheelbase discovery ambulance. Julian and his crew have all been trained in cross-country and fast road driving as part of their Ambulance Aid qualification to meet the Volunteer Ambulance Reserve requirements.
As part of the winner's prize , the Commissioner, Deputy Commiss ioner and ' Driver of the Year' were invited to spend 24 hours at Solihull as guest of Land Rover. They were treated to a fascinating and instructive tour of the Defender , Discovery and Range Rover production lines a preview of new and special models and a nerve-shatteri.ng drive on Land Rover's Jungle Track'.
Julian thinks every co unty should enter the competition, " It is challenging , testing and good fun ," he said.
St. John World 9
Long Wait for Beds
for Girls. She married Thomas Henry Scott in 1958 and they have two grandchildren. Of her appointment she saiGi "I am looking forward to mee ting as many memlDers as pos sible and am al so looking forward to working with everybody to fO Ji ward St. John in all aspects of it s work All of us very much appreciate everything that Mrs Stewalit-Robens has accomplished in her four year and whil st it will be very 10 St. John World
di ffi c ult to fill her shoes , he r year s of hard work ha ve made it easie r to co ntinu e buildin g on th e found ati on she ha alrea dy laid "
In 198 1 Mrs Sco tt was app ointed Ju sti ce of th e Peace and beca me a De put y Li e utenant of Norfo lk in 1986 Sh e he ld variou s voluntary po sts before she beca me in vol ved with St. John Ambul ance. Th ese includ ed; County Ch airm an of th e Norfo lk Federation of Wom e ns' In stitut es, Gove rn or of Norfolk Coll ege of Ag ri c ulture and Horti c ultur e and Chairm an of Bees ton Pari sh Coun cil.
In 1984 she too k ove r the po st of St. John Ambulance Count y Sup erintend ent , eve ntu ally beco min g Deput y Count y Co mmi ss ion er and th en Count y Commi ss ion er.
Mr s Scott is currentl y a memb er of the Poli ce Committee, Poli cy and Res our ces SubCommittee an d Lay Vi sitors Sub -Co mmittee.
She al so serv es on two of th e Roya l Norfo lk Agricul tural Ass ociation 's Sub-Committees.
Marketing Director
John McDermott B.Pharm., MA, joined St. John Ambulance on January as Marketing Director. at the University of Bradford and the University of Lancaster, he is married with two children
John has enjoy ed a lon g and di stin gui shed career in Marketin g Hi s appointm e nts included : Sale s Marketin g and Development Dire ctor Bass Lei sure Machin e Servi ces,
an d. lon g wait s on temporary mat tres ses can cau se bed sores Staff are under pressure to provide drug s and me als, workin g in an environment often obstructed by trolley s "
Some ho spital s highlighted the Community Care Act wh ich require s some patients to be as sess ed before di scharge , as a contributory factor. Th e college said , " In one London hospital there were more than 60 elderly people a waitin g as ses sment by the soci al services as to whether they be di scharg ed into a residential or nursing home or back into th e community ."
Sales and Mark et in g Direc tor. Coa l Produ cts Limited and Sa le , Market in g and Deve lopment Direc tor Ba s PL C.
Five Year Old Scores a First
many c hild re n at the cl ub an d we ho pe th at a ll of th ose o ld e no ugh will eve ntu all y ge t th e op po rtun ity to compl e te th e co ur se. "
Charity Donations
Alres f or d St. John Ambul an ce Di vis io n have co me up with a de li c o us fo rm of fundr a is in g -a c harit y dinn e r. Th e event organi sed by Ga ry ic hol!
had a gr ea t dea l of fun whil st lea rnin g vit a l s kill s whi c h rh ey will be a bl e to use to he lp othe r
We are ve ry proud o f th e m a ll. We have
March March 7994
Flying Christine
Guernsey St. John Ambulance and Rescue Service launched a major fundraising campaign to replace its famous ambulance launch Flying Christine II.
Thi s r e nowned craft, which is m a intai n ed so le ly by voluntary don a tion s, h as perform ed ove r 1000 missions si n ce it was laun c hed in 1964 , a nd th e Service i s h opi n g to co ntinue its life- sav ing work with a m o dern , purpose-built launch
Flying Chri s tine II is e quipp e d inside like a n emergency road ambulance, but w ith facilities for sear c h a nd resc ue at sea, and ha s saved numerou s liv es by delivering e m e rgency medical treatment w here otherwise it wou ld not be ava il ab le. Thes e include people who have s uffered acci d e nts or illne sses on the s m a ller Channel I s land s or o n in accessible beach es, p asse n ge r s on ferries, a nd fishe rm an a nd yac h tsme n injured at sea.
Crewed b y pro fessio nal am bul ance s taff w h o are trained additionally in marine rescue te c hnique s, F l y in g Chri s tine II has rendezvou se d with c rui se- lin ers at sea, raced to save di v ers s uffer in g from th e b e nd s and climbers trapped o n cliffs , and A mbulan ce and Re sc ue Service s taff h ave even delive re d a baby on board!
After 30 years of se rvi ce how ever, the launch is s howi n g si g n s of age and beco min g ex p e n sive to maintain and the Service is tryi n g to r aise £4 14 ,000 to build a uniq ue, modem replacement.
An a rti st's impression of the proposed new ambu lance laun c h
The pres e nt Plying Chri s tine II 0 11 exe rc se w ith fWO oj th e Servi ce' s in sho r e r escue boals.
A marine arc hi tect h a de ig ne d a new F ly in g Christine 111 specificall y for th e hi g h s peed provi s ion of medica l and li fesaving aid at sea. Stretchers wi ll be interc ha ngea bl e with those in the Service 's road amb ul a nce s, so patients with seve re injuri es need n ot be mo ve d from the tim e they are brought on board F ly in g C hri st in e III un ti l th ey arr ive at h osp ital.
The desi g n in corporate a c lea r ste rn d eck, with s tep to water leve l , to e n ab le cas ua lti es to be recove red f rom th e wate r in a floating st retch er a nd transferred if nece a ry to a helicopter. The craft i presently under con truction , and in add ition to many f un drais in g event being he ld , mosl s uppli ers of equ ipm e nt h ave offered red uced pri ces to help with the proj ect. How ever th e e rvi ce i s ti ll in need of financia l s upport if it is to c omp lete the con t ru ction.
T he new craft - the only one of it typ e in the worldcou ld be la un c h ed by Jul y 1994 , the thirtieth a nniv er ary 01 the pre se nt Fly in g Christine , if uffici e nt f und can be ra ised Tho s e who would like more detail , o r who can offel financial he lp , a re asked to contact th e St. John Ambulanci and R esc ue Service on 048 1 725211.
Out and About
Jo Lewis was one of a group of disabled and abl ebodied people who visited Kenya as part of a organised by the Winged Fellowship Trust. Here sill repor ts on some of the infectious magic of Kenya.
(Th e Winged Fe ll ows hip provides respite care anr h olidays for severely phy sica lly disabled p eo pl e and th el carers, at five cent r es in the UK. Disabled guests come alan; or w ith their carers, and there is a team of f ull y trained sIal s upp le m e nt ed by volunteer s o n h and to provide o ne-to- on ; care at an time s).
Kenya received its indepe nd e n ce from B ri tai n in 196 : und er the leaders hip of Ke n yatta, the freedom f ighter a nd ha s in ce enjoyed a good eco n om ic and soc ia l growth.
March
Th e gro up of 24 (12 disab led and 12 ab le-bodied) people faced quite a few problem negotiati n g w hee lc h airs arou nd
Na irobi (t he ir fir t port -of-ca ll ) as many of the paveme nt s are unmade a nd th e road s were full of po t h o le s. Renown e d for its tea a nd coffee exports, K e nya i a lso a ve rit a bl e treas urechest of s pi ce, woode n h a nd ca r v in gs, m ater ials a nd jewe ll e ry a nd t hi s wa not overlook e d by our b un c h of intrepid s hoppers who s ta lked t he mark et s treets of Mombas sa ea rcllin g fo r barga ins!
Ke nya ha 46 districts , eac h s peakin g it s own la ng uage i n add ition to S wahil i a nd many people s peak fluen t Eng li s h so lan guage did not prov e a barrier. T h e greenery, fa urna a nd flo ra of K e n ya are spectac ul ar and on e of the hi g hli g ht s of the trip wa a safa ri through Ambose lli , where wi lde rb ea s t , donkeys , deer , elep hants , hyena s a nd h ippopotam us' live in the sp le nd o ur of t he ir nat ur a l h ab itat. Th e Ke nyans are a wa rm , fr ie ndly people and th e chi ld ren espec i a ll y are wellbe haved , c he e rful and de li g htful.
We had arra nged a trip o u t on the Indian O cea n i n a Dhow sa ilin g boat. T hi s wa a truely unique experie nce12 wheelc h air on the d ec k of the craft w ith good v isibilit y on a perfectly love ly day , the ocean f ull of co lour , wit h staff an d he lp ers milling a ro und both cari n g a nd e nj oyi ng it.
It is impos s ibl e to catalog u e a ll the many and wonderfu l ex peri e nces we s h ared o n o ur journey through Kenya but one tha t sticks in m y mind is the s h oe-s h ine rs that yo u f ind abso lu te ly everywhere. " You come out s hinin g wit h Kiwi " s ig n reads a nd yet a few ya rd s dow n th e dusty road has di sappeared forever. What a truely c razy, m ag ica l , Vibrant co untr y K e n ya is .
River Rescue Drama
Asthe boat overturned the child slipped into the water and under. In minute s a St. John Ambulance rescue boat was at the scene , re s cuing the child from the water. Thankfully there was littl e need for concern as the child was actuall y a re s uscitation doll being used a s part of a simulated accident staged to mark the visit
Flyin g Ch ri stine Ill.
12 St. John World
CardiacRh
Cardiac arrest is the term used to de scrifue any sudden stoppage of the heart. It is most commonly caused by interference with the blood flow to the heart as in coronary thrombosis but other causes include shock, suffocation, drug overdose and severe blood loss . The absence of pulse and breathing characterise the condition.
Ventricular fibrillation
the heart resulting from damage to
heart impulse become s chaotic, and the muscle fails
contract in harmony The use of a defibrillator in the case of ventricul
fibrillation is essential.
The British Heart Foundation report s over 600 pe ople a day di e from hea11 attacks. With no forseeable decrease in these a larming
Studies ot Survival trom out-ot-Hospital Cardiac Arrest
defibrillation can be s uccessful by providing so me flow of blood to the brain , reciucin g the likelihood of brain damag e a nd also maintaining so me coronary a rtery blood flow Hence the importan ce of the first aider/bystander. Early application of CPR saves lives.
In the case of cardiac arrest when part of the h ea rt mu sc le dies or is injure d, CPR alone is very rare ly s ucc essful in re s toring a rhythm but by the sam e tok e n defibrillation is rare ly s uc cessful afte r four minute s of untreated ventricular fibrillation without the application of CPR. Therefo re it is imp e ra tiv e that CPR is s tarted as ea rly as poss ibl e a nd s ub sequ e ntly that a defibrillatory shock is a dmini s tere d within e ig ht to ten minutes of the o nset.
Th e refore the role of the first aider is of the utmo s t importance _ it s the first a id e r 's job to keep the blood circulating until casualty and defibrillator are brou g ht to get h e r.
Des pite pe rsis te nt arguments questioning the mor a lity of leav in g the pati e nt alone, it s important for the fir s t aider to rea li se that with the bes will in th e world a nd the a pplic a tion of the mo s t eff ec tiv e and profe ssio nal CPR yo u ca nn o t a lw ays save the cas ua lt y's life
But th ey hav e th e optimum c h a n ce of s urvival if you brin g to ge th e r the defibrill ato r a nd cas u a lty at th e ea rli es t possible s age.
According to the 1992 County D efibrill a tor Audit only ten of th e 48 counties c urre ntl y own or u se defibrillators, how ever we know thi s figure to be unrea li stic as th ese were th e only ten counties o return their audit forms! A
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1994 Safevvay
Cadet olthe Year Comp-etition I
The Rubens Hotel, London was the setting for the 1994 Cadet Leader of The Year Competition. Over 35 hopefuls lined up over the weekend of 14 January for a gruelling three days of presentations and projects. St. John World reports.
This was the 8th national Cadet Leader of The Year Competition and as always the Cadets had been vetted, questioned and considered by their respective counties before eventually being selected as county representative. All were excited at the prospect of representing their county and equally at spending the weekend in London!
The three day event consisted of a series of tests and presentations aimed at testing their ability to work in a team, using their initiative under pressure, le ading groups and dealing with people. All the Cadets were tasked with a project on fundraising ideas and some of the suggestions were both hair and eye-brow raising !
One of the highlights of the weekend for the Cadets was the four minute TV presentation selling the image of st. John - some apparently hilarious videos resulted which have found a special place in the archlves of the Youth department.
.. / am shocked but very happy. / have really enjoyed the weekend. We have all made so many new friends.
Commissioner-in-Chief of st. John Ambulance Mr Ian Moody presented the overall winners with their prizes, applauded the enthusiasm of the Cadets, and congratulClted what he called "the cream o f ou"r Cadets" on reaching this stage.
Karen Yeoman of Devon emerged as the overall winner and received a cheque for £300 towards divisional funds and a trip to the st. John Ophthalmic Hospital in Jerusalem. 17 year old, Karen has been a member of Dorchester St. John Ambulance Division for seven years and regularly attends First Aid duties ililcluding motorbike scrambles and fun-runs in addition to helping out at the weekly Badger Set meeting. Karen is a member of a family of four, all of whom are involved with st. John
Ambulance. She has recently completed he r Duke 01 Edinburgh Award in Silver and is about to start wor kin g towards her Go d Award, as part of which she hal decided to work at a local hospice for the terminally ill.
Of her win Karen says, "I am shocked but very happy.1 have really enjoyed the weekend We have all made 50 many new friends."
Winners of the title of Deputy Cadet Leader of The Year were Robert Smoult and Cheryl Short. Robert is a member of Gosworth Quadrilatera Division and hold sa current First Aid at Work certificate and eight pro· ficiencies as part of the Duke of Edinburgh Award. Rob e rt was adamant that his divisional member s were thank eD for their help and support.
Cheryl joined Wulfmn Northicote Division seven ye af ago and claims that the whole weekend was" absolutel! brilliant" Cheryl who attends Wolverhampton Girls Hign School would like to pursue a career in child psycholo9 j when she leaves school
OSPITAL Aw-areness Week
Jeru sa lem a nd the Gaza Strip. With 82 beds and an internat io na l staff of doctors and nurse, the Ho s pital has become o ne of the fin est and bu sie s t Ophthalmic Hospital s in the wor ld Treatment is entire ly free for the poor and young and as a result the Ho pital re lie heav ily on vo lunt ary s upport.
Worldwide there are over 42,000,000 blind people. In the UK alone, a quarter of a million or one in 60 people , are registered as blind or partiall y-s ighted. However the Ro ya l National In s titution for the Blind (RNIB ) estimates t hat this figure is probabl y clo se r to one million if we in clude tho se who s uffer from seeing difficulties or partial -s ight but are not registered.
At Eas ter mo s people 's thought turn towa rd s the I-I o ly Land as we re memb e r the re surr ec tio n of o ur Lord a nd pay homaoe to the bir th of C hri s tianity Jer usa lem, th e City, is a lway a t the fo refro nt of o ur mind s for thi s rea on, but (hi Easter St. J o hn Amb ula ifloe would lik e to pread a different message - that of the Eye Hosp it a l in Jeru alem and the Badger hav e been Pl"lm aril y tasked with adopting th e role of di sc ipl es
CUITently nreat in g ove r 70,000 pa t ie nt. year and pe rform ing ove r 7,0 00 major eye 0l)e t' o ra Ion yearly, the St. J o hn ph hall11l c Ho pital i a haven of hope an d a samc tu ary fo r the poor a nd needy of
Thi s year from J -8 April St. John Ambula nce is holding Hospital Awareness Week. Purpo e ly timed to take adva nt age of the Easter period of reflection , the aim is to rai se awareness both within St. Juhn and a mono t th e public of the work of th e Ho pi ta in Jeru sa le m A lth o ugh the Ho spi tal is an integ ral part of the Order' work it i the leas t known of St. John 's activ i ies. A recent initiative , Ho pital Awareness Week forms the foca l point in th e year for our effo rt s on the Hospital s behalf. We hope that every co unt y will take part and concentrate their efforts on 's preadin g the wo rd' of the Hosp it a l withi n their co unt y.
It ha s to be admitted that the Hospital i probably one of the mo s t difficult aspects of The Order wo rk to publici se. par tl y due to it lack of immediacy - our of ight often mean s o ut of mind Howeve r we hou ld not be detelTed by thi s, the problem s of the wa rtorn lands of Bo nia and Croatia are not immediate but few of u wi ll forget the harrowing and ickening portrayal of the g rave in ju tices contin uin g in these imp ove ri s hed land. Why ? Because the media has ucces full y implanted those im age firmly in ou r minds , even if we wanted to fo rge t we co uld not. And that is wha t Ho pital Awaren s Week is a ll abo ut impl a ntin g image of the Hospital in the publics ' mind s.
Anyone a nd everyone can he lp - partic ul a rl y our you nge t membe rs, the Badger. A lways a good publicity tool. the Badgers see m to be a fond favo urit e with the media.
Through the Badgers act iviti e it i hoped that we w ill s ucceed not o nl y in raising
awa reness of the work of the Hospital through th e loca media but also in ge nerating intere s t in the Badgers themselves. Scheduled for the end of term, as this act ivity is, it provide s an ideal opportunity to bring new recruits into Badger Sets for the beginning of the sum mer tem
In order to help the Badgers w ith their arduo us task , HQ has produced a free activ ity pack fo r B adgers, The " Sight for Sore Eye s" which aJl divisio ns s hould have now received. Containing games. puzzle a nd compet itions all WIth the sightlblindness theme , in addition to a s peciall y penned poem about the Hos pital , the pack provides a u efu l resource for Hospital Aware ne s Week and rh e future. The pack also introduce s a new mascot for the Ho s pital and friend for Bertie Badger Matti Mole.
In order ro gain maximum pUblicity the Activity Pack advoca tes all Badger Sets nationw id e holding a special Set Meeting/fun day/open evening ba sed on th e pack at the end of the Spring term , during the ten day (21 - 31 March) leading up to Hospital Awareness Week. In preparation for the Open Day you cou ld launch a Picture This (details in pack) competition and use these picture s to fonn the basi of an ex hi bition - rhe possibilities are e ndl ess. Then, after the introduction who knows yo u could have recruited many new Badger a wel l as informing th eir parents/g uardian s of the Ho pi ta !. Once it is up and funning it is imperative that we keep the momentum going - the mo re people that know abo ut o ur work in Jeru a lem the betrer.
It' s a tall o rd er, but wirh the he lp of our Badgers. Co unt y Badger Leaders, County Hospital Rep re entative , County PROs and a ll o ur Coun ty Staff, we all do o ur bit a nd e ns ur e th e darkness s uffe red by the people of Jerusalem is temporary and that there i ig ht a t th e e nd of th e tunn e !.
Blazi Trails
worst nightmare became reality and the dark side to their idyllic sun and beach culture was revealed when hundreds of bushfires raged through New South Wales, leaving death and destruction in their wake.
St. John members rallied to the cause alongside members of the emergency services.
St. John World Reports.
Fires had first began burning shortly before Christmas but by 5 January the situation had escalated and over 3,000 firefighters were tackling the new fires spreading throughout New South Wales.
This was the first indication that New South Wales had a crisis on its hands. Two men had already lost their lives, hundreds of people had been evacuated and thousands of acres of land were destroyed as the fires took hold. Police suspected arson in some cases but other fires were sparked by lightning.
Soon the Australian Army had been called in as rising temperatures and gusting winds fed 80 bushfires - many now running out of control. Firefighters had little choice but to concentrate on saving lives and buildings as it became increasingly obvious that there was little or no hope of extinguishing the raging fires. Three people had by now lost their lives, two of them volunteer firefighters and 247,000 acres of forest and grassland had been scorched. Fires continued to break-out near Wollongong, Grayton, Cessnock and Carl berra and meteorologists warmed hot , dry weather conditions were expected to continue.
Heavy earthmoving machines to make firebreaks and trails were called in to' assist firefighters and army personnel.
22 St. John World
By Black Friday' (14th) the situation had risen to its worst point. As the fires raged into their 14th day, 95 fires blazed across the state, some being stoked by 50 mile an hour winds, so me within five mile s of Sydney's central business district. Miraculously the death toll remained at only three, but dozen s of firefighters had been injured , so me seriously.
Firemen, re sc ue crews, army and navy personnel and countless volunteers worked night and day over the 17 day period , napping only when they could not endure another minute without sleep. In addition to the ravaging fires, firefighters also had to contend with people who refused to leave their home s. preferring instead to spray them with water as a precaution against flying embers.
Nothing escaped the trail of the fires; me n, women, children and the often forgotten victims - the animals and wildlife, all suffered. The smaller, s lower animal s s uch as koalas , possums and echnidas died as did eucalyptus and bank s ia trees. Although both trees grow back quickly it can take several years for an area to regenerate and wildlife to return.
Firefighters and army personnel were hailed heros and rightly so. Throughout two weeks, the media had concentrated on their efforts to save New South Wales (NSW)
in New South Wale s, Glenn rang around Su. J@b members in his division to have them starod by should he receive a caJ! for assistance from NSW HQ Thus, the members of Glebe Division were ready , and were able to mobilise as soo n as they got the call from Headquarters.
Glenn was sent to the St. John Training Centre at Blaxland in the Blue Mountains, where he was one of four St. John volunteers oommctndeered to be third party support on ambulances going into the front line firefighting area at nearby Springwood. When they arrived, Glenn assisted ambulance officers treated residents suffering from burns , asthma, chest pain and minor injuries. Smoke inhalation and cinders and ash in eyes were the most common injuries treated among residents and firefighters.
In Glenn's words, it was "an unbelievable wall of fire just amazing". Firefighters in protective gear sprayed the ambulance with water, and just as quickly the flame s moved on. Glenn said that there had been no time to think; it had all happened too quickly. Looking back at what happened, he believes that he was very lucky to survive.
she saw at first hand just what our volunteers were doing
"I find it difficult to express just how impressed I was with the St. John response to the New South Wales bushfire emergency. It was wonderful to see such an efficient, well presented body of St. John volunteers responding so quickly and capably to the call for help in this emergency.
It is a credit to the Operations Branch that something like five hundred New South Wales volunteers were mobilised within less than twenty-four hours. This body was still insufficient to meet the demands of the crisis, so when St. John in Victoria called to say that they had eighty-seven volunteers on standby ready to assist if needed the offer was gratefully accepted by NSW."
from further devastation but volunteers had also played a large rol e in the saving' of NSW alongside the firefighters - many of whom had also ri sked th e ir liv es.
When the main cri is hit , members of SI. John Ambulance rallied to the cause an d
About I pm on Saturday (15th), the ambulance crew that Glenn was with received a call to mUltiple casualties at Hawkesbury Road , Sprin gwoo d. The fire was rag ing through a residential area and mUltiple civilian and firefighting casualties were expected. When the crew arr ived , the sce ne was chaotic, but it was a relief to f ind that there were not multiple casualties. The fire had come up from the valley so quickly that many resident s did not even have time to leave the area. They had to stay in si de o. nd hope that the fire would pass over them Firefighters sca ttered as the winds roared the fire through th e street. Thankfully, there were no fatalities or major injuries. But as the ambulance anived the unpredictable winds fa nning the fire whipped up again, and a fireball came back up through th e bush and over the top of nearby hou ses. Glenn and the ambulance crew staye d in the vehicle. which was engul fed by flames as the fire passed through
provided First Aid and Care treatment where fT"IrlIII"'-;;T.'!<.T,iiXIT] required. A group of 600 volunteer of the SI. John Operation s Branch , includin! 87 who were flown into Victoria at the height of the emergency (7-14) to help the sid, injured and homel ess.
Members re spo nded quickly to the call. worked long and hard , and earned th e respect and gratitude of all who came into contact with them. All in all, St. John members treated over 5,000 casualties, cared for 18 ,000 evacuees and carried our over 35,000 public duty hour s. AI an example of the sca le and inten sity of the work can'ied out by the Operation s Branch at one stage members were treating 145 casuahie per hour on the Colo Road.
Glenn Miller is the County Di saster Offic er for Glebe Divi sion He works full time as a Welfare Officer for Miss ionbea (Sydney City Mission) , and has been a member of Operations Branch for only Ij months.
On Friday, as the fire s ituation March 1994 March 7994
On the Sunday, Glenn was out with an ambulance crew treating firefighters with eye in itations and smoke inhalation during one of the back burning operations in the Springwood area. Once again the strong, unpredictable winds created a fireball which raced over the ambulance. Thi s time the crew was not inside the vehicle and could only crouch down behind the ambulance as the flames raced over their heads. Again it was a lucky escape.
Despite having slept for only a few hours since Friday , on Monday Glenn was still on duty. sta tioned at the RAAF Base at Richmond , where he helped care for the frail and ill elderly patients who had been evacuated from nurs ing home s in the Blue Mountains.
Liz Tilley Public Relations Co-ordinator at St. John National Headquarters in Canberra, flew to Sydney in response to an SOS call to help the State SI. John Office with the public relations aspects of the St. John effort during the emergency. In the co urse of her work over the next two days
Undoubtedly , the response of both the professional and voluntary services to the emergency was phenomenal , with many lives and homes being saved. But the cost to the State and Federal Government is huge estimated between £200-£250 million Firefighting costs alone run into £2.8 million per day, damage to Sydney 's electricity network is estimated at £2.4 million, not to mention the cost of working days lost and homes and businesses destroyed.
The Insurance Council of Australia has an army of assessors on hand _to deal with the losses but have warned that considering the scale of the di sas ter people will have to be patient.
Looting also reared its ugly head at the height of the crisis with children as young as 13 years old being questioned and detained by Police. The cost of this is still unknown
New South Wales has suffered its worst tragedy in over 50 years and will be counting the cost of tho se 17 days for many years to come. But perhaps the irony is that December and January were not Australia's hottest months and the forecast for February and March is for another hot period.
Dear Editor,
A flriend of mine is involved with St. John Ambulance and as a result I receive regular updates on new projects and initiatives within the organisa tio n.
The most recent topic of discussion was of course the New FAW package which I personally feel is a very worthwhile project. I have long been concerned with the lack of First Aid provision in some workplaces and hope that employees will take note and ensure that at least one person per 50 receive s adequate First Aid training.
I wish you every success with yo ur new campaign.
Yours faithfull y Horace Carolin S &W Yorks
D ear Editor, I was intereste d to read about the activities of the We st Belfa s t (Broadway) D i vis t on as featured in the January issue of St. John World. It is heartening to read that de s pite the difficulties suffered by the peopl e of Northern Ireland , Adrian Petticrew and hi s colleagues are continuing with their work in the mo s t nonnal ' way po ss ibl e. I ec ho hi s sentiments that they "are a normal divi sion working in abnoJlllal ci rcum s tanc es" a nd they s hould b e proud of their role.
Yours faithfully Bernice McKenna Cornwall
D ear Editor, Mr M ah oney's lette r e ntitl e d ' In de fe nce of the white bag ' had , I thought , some very valid points. I too do not agree wi th change for changes' sake and feel that the current ba g is effectiv e and do es not n ee d changing and hi s point th a t we would all have to fork out more mon ey to replace this bag is very important. Divi sio ns h ave enough trouble raising f und s withollt h av in g to spe nd their hard earned mon ey on non-n ecess ities.
Yours faithfull y Aaron McNamara Lincolnshire
AMBULANCESI WELFARE BUSES
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St.John I Crossword
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I. Vi s ibl e s ig n of disease. (6)
2. Gene di so rder after 50 ounce tabl et. (7)
3. Dru g s uppli er. (7)
4. Type of disease tak in g r a pid but severe co ur se is less t h a n 90 d eg rees (5)
5 Amputate from fa lse vertebrae. (5)
6. Part of ho s pita l treating flatul e n ce is an ex posed s id e. (8)
7. Cause of a runnin g no se (8)
13 M ild ri go r found in eac h illn ess. (5)
14 Hig h point of the feve r. (4)
16. Cunning part of the foot. (4)
17. Mea n diet in cerebra l dete ri o ration. (8)
18. Mydriatic pre-operativ e dr ug. (8)
20. U nd e rdo for having been c irc ulat e d (7)
21. Land co nt a inin g rare tin. (7)
23. Te rm in c lu ding h our for h ea t units. (6)
25. Artery h av in g J6 down. (5)
26 Gland prod ucing sex h ormo ne (5)
If yo u have se t up a branch, plea se keep the General Secretary infonned by filling in the form b e l ow and se nding it to :
Sheila Puck Ie , General Secretary, : St. John Fellowship, St. John's : Gate, Clerkenwell, London : ECIM 4DA.
TO CROSSWORD NO.2-94.
STJOHN
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Jernsalem
TrQ,nsp'Q,nt
CorneQ,s Offer Hope
At the st. John Ophthi'llmic Hospital, Jerusalem, approximately 400 paltients wait anxiously for corneal transplants Disease of the mrn@a and anterior segments abounds amongst the Palestinian community and common diseases include old trachomatous gCClrring and scarring due to vernal keratoconjunctivitis, an allergic condition provoked in part by the harsh climatic conditions. Trauma, chemical burng and other injuries are also responsible for corneal disease in the Holy Land Hereditary disease of the cornea is also quite common
There is a prohibition against the harvesting of donor corneas by both the Islamic and Orthodox Jewish faiths and convention demands that bodies are buried quickly and whole. Consequently st. John has to use its international connections to find precious mrneas
The bulk of the corneas used by Jerusalem eye surgeons come from abroad Many come from eye banks in the UK, mainland Europe and the USA.
In February, st. John received the good news that they were to receive eight corneas from the USA. Patients were phoned and brought in and at the last minute there was a hitch, the aircraft was snowbound on the East Coast of the USA would they arrive?
Fortunately they did and doctors and nurses began corneal grefting. Two of the recipients were; Shamseh As'ad Jabareen, a 37 year old from Um EI Fahem in North Israel and Sameh Radwan Sherif, from Hebron on the West Bank
In the event the transplant went well and Shamseh is now receiving fol low -up care. Her prospects for visual recovery are gooa (as are those for her cousin)
Sameh, aged 19, had keratoconus, another hereditary condition which distorted the shape of the concas into steep curves, leavino them optically ineffective to refract the ncoming light. Her graftei cornea is also doing well and there is a very good chance that she will soon be able to see again.
"To find corneal grafts for our patients is a time consuming ana dif icult task," says Dr John O'Shea. "There is a world shortage 01 donor material, nonetheless the results are worth it - transplantec mater ial offers real hope."
Hospi,"' AWQ,reness Week WQ,lk-Q,-,bon
On 6 May, Pame la Drury-Lowe, the Hospital Representative fori Warwickshire, will be doing a sponsored walk along the leng in of the Grand Union Canal in aid of the Ophthalmic Ho spital She hopes to complete the 145 mile walk between Birmingham and London in just 12 days!
Mrs Drury-Lowe will be accompanied by her niece LuC) Tr ind er as well as other st. John personnel along the way. The se will include: The Chief President, the President and Co m · missioner of West Midlands and the Commissioner o' Warwickshire Support for Mrs Dru ry- Lowe has been flooding In from allover the world, even from friends in New Zealand and is hoped she will raise £20,000 from the walk.
Mrs Drury-Lowe would like members of st. John to join her on her walk (a maximum of six at anyone time - otherwise the towpath becomes too crowded). So, if you have a spa re morning or afternoon and would like to raise some money for the Hospital or would like to sponsor Mrs Drury-Lowe, pleasE contact the Appeals Department at NHQ
The journey will take you through West Midlands, Wa r· wickshire, Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Bedfords hire Hertfordshire, Buckinghamsh ire again and London The App eall Departmen t is at present negotiating the use of a narrow boal to accompany Mrs Drury-Lowe and this will form an excell enl backdrop for any PR activity.
Obviously the Grand Union Canal does not pass every county, but that is no reason to be left out. W hy do n", you organise your own sponsored activities on the tWO weekends of the walk - 7/8 May & 14/15 May?
NHQ will happily provide you with any sponsor forms that you may need and we'll happily come and give you any advice should you need it.
Community Care on Air
On 4 January, Yorks hi re TV's Action Tim e' programme in c lud ed a ten minute feature on St. John Amb ul ance's involvement in Com muni ty Ca re. It was scree ned i n 11 co unti es in the Nort h Eas t and East of E ng la nd a nd over 130 enquiri es were received as a result. Filming was
on Cleveland
John. All those who took part thoroughly enjoyed the experience and the daughter of Peter Cook, t he pro gr am me's producer, asked if s he co uld become a Cadet.
All
STOP PRESS:
4 St. John World
ST.JOHN LIFESAVERS
mu st have been with yo u and [ can quite belie ve nhat."
He added, "I was worried that my circulation might have ceased be ca use the pain sto pped in both my legs. Had it been much longer , I think gangre ne would have set in ."
Mr Ludkin who is Dere ham 's Regi s trar for Births, Marriages and Death s said,"The only thing you can do in such circumstances is to try and get ckar before the horse hits the gro und. She roBed and pu shed me und er a nd I was stuck."
Thr@@ Girls Save Man Trapped Under Horse
A. bizzare accideNt left a man trapped under a dead fer almost four hours.
Kerry Ludkin aged 61, had been out rirling at Great Fransham , near Dereham, when his horse collapsed from what is believed to have been a h e art a t\tack. He lay undiscovered for nearly femr hours before three fonner
St. John Ambulance Cadets found him
Vicky lowell, aged 11 , Laura Barber , aged 14, and Jenny Dalton, also aged 14, were out ridiNg along a stuble field when bh ey heard a n ois e , "We were cantering along the verge when we heard a little mumilUr and I galloped to where the eollapsed hOIise was ," said Lama, whQ nhen rode off to get help, wh!i.lst JelilO)" and Vicky tended to Mr Ludkin.
Using tme rrr First know [edge t hey kept him warm, reassured and ma<ile sUire his fureatm.iTlg was alright.
"I thilI1k r showld h ave been killed, I am very to be alive ," sai.d Mr Lucilki!lil.. "Someolile saitd to· me 'GoGt
6 St. JQhn World
Soon after he was found by the girls, so me friends of Mr Ludkin , Tom and Jill Scott, arrived and helped with the rescue.
Mr Ludkin now intends to thank the three girls personally.
St. John Team Rescues Injured Rider
Five members of St. John Ambulance have received special thanks for saving the life of a 16 year old girl, injured in a riding accident.
Vinca :Soonnan tumbled from her horse during a showjumping contest at Heathfield Equestrian Centre in Bletchingdon. First on the scene was St. John Ambulance Member Steve Moss of Batley, O xfor d
"We were all on duty as nonnal when there was a crash," sai. d Mr Moss. "As the horse went to jump up it fell forward and threw her on the fence."
The team of five ensmred that Vinca was breathing and on the aI1i]val of the Ox:fordslilire Ambulance Service sine was taken to hosi9i.ta i.
"We were doing ol'lr job, but it is nice to get some re@ognition. The best thing
was her recovering," said Mr Moss.
The other volunteers involv ed in the re sc ue were; Karen Moss (Mr Moss 's wife) , Ian Jones, Phillip Cooper and Nick Goodway.
Vinca s mother praised the volunteers for their quick actions. She said, "They were absolutely terrific, we can't thank them enough At first we were told she was going to die."
Mr and Mrs Boonnan h ave presented St. John Ambulance with a portable oxygen set as a thank-you.
Lazarus - the Rugby Fan!
Grandad Horace Spooner is the modern day Lazarus after he died at a rugby match - but re-joined the land of the living shortly afterwards!
Rugby - mad Horace, 78 , and his wife Margaret were watc hin g Wakefi eld Trinity take on Warrington when he s udd e nly fell to the ground " His heart stopped the club doctor said there was no s i gn of li fe and I was told to exp ecl the worst, " said Margaret.
Members of St. John Ambulance batt led in vain to revive him and a tannoy announcement broke th e sad new s to fans.
But while his family and friend s mourned him , doctors at Pinderfields Hospital Wakefield, brought him back to life.
"We call him Lazarus after the Bibl e character, for makin g s uch an ama zing recovery," said Margaret.
Horace, who ha s been a Wakefield Trinity fan for over 70 years remembers nothin g a bout hi s death and sub seq ue nt revival.
''I'm a bit dazed but not feeling too bad after two weeks in ho spital. I'm glad t hey won, but ju st disa ppointed thai I missed the match I hardly ever miss a game, but should be back on the terraces before too long ," he said.
HOTace is being cared for at home by Marg a!liet following his ordeal.
ST. JOHN FELLOWSHIP
(by Sheila Puck/e)
I am delighted to report the formation of five new Fellowship Branche s, a great snart to our seco nd decade: -
Prince Edward Island, Canada
Contact: Dr E. Edmunds Clyde River R.R.2
Prin ce Edward Island COA IHO
Eating & District Branch, London District
Contact: Mr A Miles 15, Abbot Close Northolt
UB55TN
Leyland Branch Lancashire
Contact: Mrs Almond 46, Edgehill Crescent Leyland
Lanes. PR51GU
Lancing & Sompting Branch, West Sussex
Contact: Mrs G M Dearlin g 14, Grafton Gardens Sompting Lancing West Sussex BN15 9SP
Newton Abbott Branch, Devon
Contact: Mrs V Cooper Knowle House 53 Cromleshead Ro ad Highweek
Newton Abbott [)evon li'Q121PZ
I attended the inaugural meeting of Ealing & Di strict Branch which i s the 150th Branch of the Fellowship. They met at the large Ealing Divi s ional HQ, to whicll we were welcomed by the SUjgerintendent and Divisional Offi cer. room was full of old friends with Whom I served in London Di strict, Mr Derek Fenton, former Commander, whQ him self joined the Brigade at Ealing in 1934 as a Cadet.
Sheila Pl!lckle, GeneraJ Secretary , St. JohN Fellowship, St. John's Gate, Sn. John's LaNe, Clerkenwell, LQlildon ECIM 4DA
April 1994
April 1994
1994 NutraSweet London Marathon
On 17 April, over 1000 St. John members will , once again, be lining the route of the London Marathon tending to the aches and pain s of so me 25,000 people who think that running 26 miles is a sensible way of spending a Sunday!
Amongst all those runners will be the 300 plus members of the John-a-thon team , who are hoping to raise over £ 100 000 for St. John. Watch out for tho se flourescent vests!
"Just our cup of tea," say Southampton Area Divisions. On a very foggy November 26, a brand new ambulance was dedicated for use by divisions in the Southampton area. Money had been raised by a special promotion carried out in Safeway Stores wheJieby each time customers bought certain Brooke Bond products (tea being one of them) Brooke Bond donated £5 to an ambulance appeal. Pentagon Vehicle Builders had the task of converting a new Leyland Daf van and the local division were able to ensure that all their de signs and recommendations were taken into account.
Blobby Hits the Town
A Mr Blobby joined Saturday night drinkers in South East Essex pub s to rai se money for St. John Ambulance.
A grol!lp f rom the Wickford Div isiolil donned fancy dress and took to the pub s, ably assisted by Mr Blobby , amI rais ed £183.09 towards its HQ appeal.
The fIiloney will go towards the building of a centre for training pL:lb lic First Aid courses and a garage fCilr the ambuJaliloe.
Reaching the Peak
Mr Charles Arthur raised an incredible £5,000 for St. John Ambulance on a sponsored climb of Mount Pumori. The money was used to fund the production of the Badgers 'Sight for Sore Eyes' pack, which by now every Badger Set will have received a copy of.
The pack will be a valuable and lasting resource for the Badgers in terms of promoting and fundraising for the Ophthalmic Hospital. Our thanks to Mr Arthur for his tremendous efforts.
8 St. John World
HOSPITAL Awareness Week
By now everyone will have received their 'Sight for Sore Eyes' pack and most of you have probably already generated heaps of publicity for the Hospital. Please try to keep the momentum going and inform as many people as possible about the work of our sister foundation, the St. John Ophthalmic Hospital.
Remember th at mo s t peopies minds turn towards the Holy Land at Easter and we can take advantage of this period of reflection.
And don't forget to mentiolil Bertie Badger 's new friend - 'Mattie Mole
Asthma Fear with Diesel Cars
A Commons Committee recently repOlted that a sw itch to die se l cars could destroy efforts to clean the air.
A report by the Parliamentary of Science a nd Technology said that more die se l cars could lead to hi gher leve ls of nitrogen ox id es, ca nc er-ca using chemicals and carbon particulates in the atmo phere
The report said that the p robl ems would offset the advantages gained by the increasing use of cata lytic co nverters to cut toxic fumes from petrol-driven cars.
MP pointed to trong ev id ence that asthm a and other respiratory a ll erg ies are increasing a nd sa id that ou td oor air pollution , in c ludin g smoki ng, added to the problem.
The Commons report underlin ed the fi ndin gs last month of the Government ' s Quality of Urban Air Rev iew Group , which sa id that the in crease in the number of diesel vehicles in ci tie s "is to be viewed with consi derab le concern " Chairman of the British Lung Foundation , Dr Malcolm Green , a id the c ience office report , " Confirms the effect th at fine particles in diesel fumes can have on peopl e with lun g disease".
It now appears that instead eco-friendly die se f ume s cou ld be ve ry harmful by worsening conditions s uch as asthma.
(Asthma is dis cussed in greater detail on pa ge 20 ).
One Little Piggie, Two Little Piggies ...
For years sc ie nti sts hav e been searc hin g fOT an alternative so urce of organ s which to perform li fe-saving transplants. Attempts hav e been made with organs fro m goa ts, pi gs and even a baboon aU un s uccessfuII y.
Howev er, sc ie nti sts from Cambridge University are now pinning their hopes on genetically eng in eered pig s Fertilised eggs from one sow are injected with se lected human ge nes and implanted into another sow. Th e altered ge netic make-up of the sub seq uent piglets means that their organs co uld be tran splanted int o hum ans with ou t risk of immediate rej ec ti o n It is hoped that one day, by us ing ge nes from prospective tran splant recipients, a pig co uld be bred with organs as co mpatibl e as those of an identical twin. The only problem s that the patient wo uld have to wa it as lon g as it takes to breed a pig!
Osteoporosis - Alternatives foHRT
Osteoporo i (brittle bone disease) is common among post-menopausal wo me n as it 's ca use d by a lack of oes tro ge n. Hornlone replacement therapy (H RT ) -whi ch replaces lo st oestrogen - is the main me thod of treatment, but it's not suit ab le for all women. So what are the alternative s?
Sa lcalonin Given by injection , Salcatonin prevents the ce ll s that break down bon e from doing their job Taken over a lon g period of time it ca n redu ce the numb er of these ce ll s. This a ll ow s the ce ll s that build bone to work unheeded, thereby increas ing bone mass. How eve r, Salcatonin is very expe nsive therefor e many GPs do not prescribe it. Encouragingly though , scae nti sts are working on a na sa l sp ray version which should be much che aper and more read ily available.
Didrond PMO - Used to treat spinaJ osteoporo sis, Didronel PMO co nt ai ns a chemical ca lled etidronate that bind s to the lDone forming a sort of protec tive laye r over top of it. Thi s lay er prevents the cells bha t eat away at bone from reachin g the bone 's surface and de stroyin g it.
HEALTHY BONE
from diet alone or with help from supplements.
Mo st vitamin D is absorbed through sunshine therefore elderly women or tho se who don t get out very often need supplements - 400-800iu (in ternational unit s) of vitamin D is recommended dail y.
Exe rcise - Gentle exercise such as walking , help s increase bone mass in po stmenopausal women bec ause putting pre s: sure on bones in thi s way make s them stronger. To be effective, three sess ion s a week, each lasting 20 minute s, are recommended.
The Tall and Short of it
OSTEOPOROTIC BONE
Comparison of enlargemen ts of normal healthy bon e (top) as in a woman of 35 yea rs, wi th bone in a woman over 60 yea rs with seve re osteoporosis.
Suppl ements - Supplements of calc ium , combined with Vitanlin D (w hich help s the body absorb calcium) , can increase bone ma ss in older people. Thi s s why it 's recommended that po st-menopau sa l women take in 1 500mg of calci um dai ly either
A stud y from the Hopital Robert De bre in Pari s sugge sts that Vitamin A s upplements ma y speed growt h in abnomla1ly short children.
Slow growt h in c hildren is often caused by low level s of the growth hormone (GH) secreted by the pituitary g la nd Th e study reveaJed that of 68 children st udied tho se suffering from low GH level s ate significantly less Vitamin A than both normal height and other short children. Taken over three month s, Vitamin A supplements helped to increase GH levels in the short children.
A He1ning Hand
July and August last year saw the fulfilment of a 25 year ambition, to work at the St. John Ophthalmic Hospital in Jerusalem. It was only for six weeks but to me it was a wonderful opportunity to work voluntarily for an organisation I love and admire.
On Monday morning I was directed to Janet Bowman s (the Matron) office where we discussed the various thing s I hoped to do such as go in g on Outreach and teaching in the School of Nursing.
After a tour of the Hospital and introductions a ll round , I spent the rest of the morning with Sister Jackie Jaidy and her staff in the comb in ed Outpatients and A&E department. My first impressio n on seei ng such a mas s of people wa s 'how do they cope wit h so many patients '? I was soon to find out. The department is very well organised and by 2.30pm every patient had see n a doctor , received the best of treatment and gone hom e. r was exhausted and I had only watched and listened to others working including a very intere ting session in the visua l fields of testing a nd also the Flourescin Angiography departments. I spent the remainder of the afternoon in the chi ldren's ward. I was surpri sed to find the children so quiet, the reason for that became obvious later.
At the end of the afternoon , Matron gave me a programme for the first two weeks whic h included working in Theatres, the Wards , Outpatients and going on Outreach twice a week It seemed I was going to very busy, which was exactly what I wanted.
Tuesday morning found me in the operati ng theatre at 8am. The first appointment was for 7.30am and doctors were alrea dy treating their second patient. I asked to oIDserve as mmch surgery as possible during the course of the day - this is not hard consideri ng the su rgeons do 300-400 cases per month!
One particular case, involving alii 11 year old, took two and a half hours to comp lete. The boy was being treated for an old injury Which had become progressively worse, in a detachment, o(!)mplicated my demse corneal scarring and the absence of lens,
An0ther involved an eight month old boy Wl10 Iila@ Iilad cangemi tal cataracts removed April 7994
two weeks before and who had fallen in hi s cot and s uffered an iris prolapse with hyphaema (bleed in g into the anter ior chamber). This baby remained in Hospital for ten days because the su rgeon wanted to be sure that the eye wa s f ully healed before allowing him home.
In the operating theatre as elsewhere in the Hospital, the staff are fully aware of keeping costs down by recycling everything possible
For instance, the staff salvage sma ll plastic pop bottles which are steri li sed and filled with home-made sali ne hititane or other skin cleansing so lution s Also in theatre, if Diathenny (Cautery) is required , for a squint operation, then , instead of an expensive electric diathenny, they light a sma ll cam pin g gas stove and heat the instrument over it! This is c heap and very efficient.
The li st finished at 4.4Spm and for me, I could go home For the surgeons, they had to go to the wards to check on their newly operated patients before they too could go hO lilile, A long day for everyone.
The next day I went onto the Children S Ward for the first time, I took with me a variety of music makers, crayons , play mats, dolls and other toys which were bought with money re ceived from well-wishers,
The children were extraordinarily quiet and did not seem to know how to play. The ward has large toy s such as slides and bikes becau se smaller toys have a habit of going home along with the c hildren ! The children carefully shared out the wax crayons so that they had six little pieces of crayon eac h and not one large one as I had given them. I found this behaviour both very moving and sad. Soon the ward became quiet again as the children left , raking the toys with them!. I had to think of something else to stimulate the children and which could remain in the ward.
As I pondered the problem that evening, the sol ution came to me, why not have a story time' every day All the students were very enth usiastic and even the staff and parents, those who co uld read, also wanted the books and they became a very popular addition to the childrens daily activities.
I loved the children ' s ward and spent a lot of my spare time there , either to help the staff or play with the children. I was amazed at how little language was needed for me to communicate with the children. We used signs, gestures, smiles , nods and winks which con stituted our own langu age.
Within a few day s of my arrival Matron asked me if I could put wall paper up , I said ' yes and then completely forgot all about it. Some weeks later Matron showed me a large wall paper frieze of Sesame Street characters which she wanted putting up in the children ' s ward examination room. It took Matron, the ward staff and I , two day s to gather together a sem blance of equipment. My ruler was a long piece of straig ht wood, my pasting brush was a 4" paint brush, my paper bru sh was a dry sponge , my pasting table the doctors desk and tile wall paper pa ste which I was assured worked, looked like oat flakes. Once all the equipment' was assembled, it only took me an hour to paste the paper and put it up on the wall behind the slit lamp. This was done to give the cm ildren something other than a bare wall to focus on while the doctor was examining their eyes, With some spare pieces of paper , the children I cut out the characters and made a pictUre to go over the examining couch. The children loved the wallpaper and brought their families to see it and show them what they had done!
Next month - Outreach - the reality.
St. John World 11
+ Emergency Planning
Disasters, whether by human- error, natural disasters or terrorism, appear to be happening with increasing frequency these days with larger scale effects in terms of damage to the environment and cost to human life. How can we prepare ourselves for these unforeseen tragedies? Where and to whom can we turn for help? How many people have received any kind of training for dealing with sudden major emergencies? How many Brigade staff who were on duty at Hillsborough, for example, were at all prepared for the scale and speed of the emergency or aware of the procedures for coordination with the statutory services and others on that awful day?
The Emergency Planning College based a t The H a wkhill s, Easingwold , York , started life as one of thr ee Civil D efe nce Colleges in the Uni ted Kingdom It wa s bought by the H o m e Office in 1936 for use a s an anti-ga s tr a ining s chool. In 1968 , the Civil Defence Corps wa s disbanded and the other two Civil Defence College s were clo sed down. In 1989 following a revi e w of the arrangements for dealing with civil em e r g encies , the Home Secretary decided to rename it and toda y's Emergency Plannin g came into being.
The aim of the College is to promote and s us tain emerg ency preparedness in the UK , with the course embracing all phases of emergency management from prevention to recovery. Its po s ition as a Government establishment enables it to draw on the wide range of expertise and experience in emergency arrangements that s available from specialist agencies, central and local government , the uniformed services and the ever growing voluntary sector.
The COUlrses cover a varied range of subjects and of special relevance to members of St. John Ambulance are tho se on Emergency Management for Voluntary Organi s ations , New s Media and Information, Care of People in Emergencies, L ess on s from Crowd Related Emergencies, Coun selling and Aftercare and Re s t Centre Management.
The learning objectives for each course vary but the main a im i s to be aware of the compkxity of response to major disasters and the need to plan for every eventuality, stressing in particular interagency cooperation and understanding.
The College consists of a
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noe in g. M o re r ece ntl y - a nd w ith furth er improve m e nt m ade p oss ibl e by ve ry ge nero us s upp o rt fr o m th e Ed win a M o un t b a tte n Tru st, he Ce ntr e h as e nt e re d th e 199 0 's as
a res id e nce w he re g ue S ca n c h oo e fr o m a w id e ra n ge of o utd oo r
ac ti viti e offe red by the bea u t ifu D e r by hi re D a es and De rwe nt
Va ll ey. Th e re a re 0 pp o lt u n it ies fo r m o re c ul t ur a l purs uit s, in cl udin g visit s to near b y hi to ri c h o uses at C h atswo I1h a nd H add o n H a ll a nd the Na ti o n a l Tr am Mu se um a t C ri c h o
Opportunity knocks for an R.G.N. with either Ophthalmic a nd/or Operating The a tre qualifications .
You could b e sponsor e d to work for a y e ar in the highly respected St. John Ophthaln1ic Hospital in lerusalen1. Excellent nursing experience is to be gained in this ver y bus y hospital.
The successful applicant will be a meluber of St. John Ambulance, or "vill want to become a n1en1ber.
Further information can be obtained from : Mrs Sylvia Holmes, Hospitaller's Office, St. John Ambulance, 1 Grosvenor Crescent, London SW1 X 7EE
and
April 7994
Understanding EPILEPSY
Anyone can develop epilepsy at any time. At least 300,000 people in the United Kingdom are being treated for it at anyone time, and over a million people can expect to develop it at some stage in their lives.
Approximately 80 families a day, or nearly 300,000 a year, are facing epilepsy as a new problem - 75 per cent of those diagnosed are under the age of 20. It is the second most common neurological condition after migraine, and it has more than 40 identifiable types which vary widely in their severity and symptoms.
In lay man's terms, epilepsy is a chemical imbalance of the nerve cells of the brain leading to excess electrical activity and then to a seizure or fit. It is not a psychological condition, nor is it infectious, although it can leave as mysteriously as it arrived, and all the causes are still not known. Sadly there is no cure for epilepsy although 80 per cent of people diagnosed, can have their condition well controlled by medication.
Epileptic seizures can IDe classified into two broad groups
"Medication for people with epilepsy has greatly improved in recent years. Unfortunately peoples attitudes haven't kept pace. "
HOW ELECTROeNCEPHALOGRAPHY
IS DONE A nu mb er of small electrodes are attached to the scalp Shaving of the scalp IS unnecess a ry The electrodes a re connected to an nst rument that measures the brain's Im pulses In microvolts and ampli fies th em for recor di ng purposes The technique is pa in less, produces no side-effects. a nd takes about 45 minutes. Reco rd in gs are taken with the subject at rest. with eyes open and then shut during and after hyperventilalton and while looking at a flashing light illS also helpful. espeCially when epilepsy is suspected to record activity as the patient goes to sleep
- generalised and partial seizures. The form a seizure takes depends on the part of the brain in which it arises and on how widely and rapidly it fans out from its point of origin.
Partial seizures are usually caused by damage to a limited area of the brain. Partial sei:wres are divided into simple seizures and complex seizl!lres. In either of these types, the electricatl may spread and affect the whole brain causing a generalised seizure.
Generalised seizures which cause loss of consciousness , affect the whole body and may arise over a wide area of the brain and there are two main types of generalised seizure, major and minor.
Minor epilepsy or 'petit mal' as it is commonly referred to is the lesser form of the condition, in which brief, sudden disturbances of the brain cal!lse little more than a momentary blurring of consciousness that resem'lDles daydreaming. Symptoms include; sudden switching off; the casualty may be staring blankly ahead, slight twitching movements of lips, eyelids or head, strange 'automatic' movements - lip-smacking, chewing, making odd noises or fiddling with clothing. On recovery the casualty may
14 St. John World
simply have lost thread of what they were doing This form is not strictly 'serious' but does require attention. However , it is not uncommon for a major fit to follow a minor one.
Maj or ep il epsy or 'g r and mal' as it is known , is characterised by recun-ent major di st urban ces of brain activity, resulting in violent seiz ure s and seve re (if temporary) impairment of consciousnes Epileptic fits can be s udden and dramatic, but th e cas ualty m ay hav e a bri ef period of warning -a strange feeling or spec ial taste or s mell - known as a n 'a ura '. Thi s is the more ser iou form of e pilep sy and require s ur ge nt treatment.
Durin g a major ep il epsy fit the cas ualty norm a lly falls un· conscious , often lettin g out a cry. Th ey be co me ri g id , archin g their b ack (this is known as the Ionic ph ase). Breathin g may cease and the lips may sho w a blue tinge (cya no s is) a nd th e face and neck m ay become congested. Convulsive move· ments begin (the c loni c phase).
The j aw may be an d breathing may be noi sy. Saliv a may appear at the mouth, bloo d· s tained if lip s or tongue hav e been bitten Th ere m ay be loss of bladder or bowel control. The mu scles relax and breat hing becomes normal the casualty recovers consciousness, usually within a few minutes They may feel dazed, or behave strangely in a state of 'automatism', being unaware of their actions. A fit may also be followed by a deep sleep. However , if the casualty is havin! repeated fits or is unconscious for more than ten minutes, dial for an ambulance immediately.
One of the main problems for epilepsy sufferers is the fear and ignorance sun-ounding the condition. Friends, family and strangell can find it very difficult to accept epilepsy and understand that a person with epilepsy is essentially no different from anyone els e. However, whilst it is necessary that victims are not wrapped n cotton wool, it is vital that people are made aware of their condition and its treatments.
The British Epilepsy Association is the on ly national charit concerned with helping people with epilepsy and believe man people who are not suffering from epilepsy are diagno sed incon-ectly. At a recent conference 'Aspects on Epilepsy' the Association's Honorary Medical Advisor Dr Tim Betts told tM Apri/1994
deleg ates that so metime s doc to rs diagno se patients as having other f0rJi)ilS of attacks, and evenbually it tran s pires that they do actually have epilepsy. By -the sa me token people who have been treated for epilepsy for years, Uurn out not to be s uffering from the condition. "Epilep sy is a very complex condition of which th e re are many types. The di ag nosi s should not be hurried and s hould be ba se d on positive evidence. This need s to be can-ied out in a s peciali st unit or centre," sa id Dr Tim Bett s
For someone who ha s not previously witnessed a n epileptic fit it ca n be a very frightening experience, but s uffici e nt knowledge of its symptoms and treatment of its causes can ease the burden Although relatively common, epilepsy is s till v ery much a taboo s ubject and as a result s ufferers frequently face obstacles both in their personal and private live s, resulting in a very restricted life sty le ego having epilep sy, how ever 'mi ld or infrequ e nt the attacks, m eans automatically lo si ng your driving licen se for the minimum of two years. Obviou s ly attempting to obtain insurance after this period can be quite problematic.
Adapting your lifes tyl e is a lmost certa inly ne cessary but you do not have to change it completely. For example if you enjoy sw imming and do it re g ul ar ly you just ne e d to take some s impl e precautions like informing the lifeguard that you have epilepsy and if po s ibl e bring so meon e else a lon g with you when you go sw immin g. The same th eory app lie s for those suffering from alcohol epilepsy - drink in moderation or if you s uffer from frequent, sever e attacks, avoid alcohol.
The media also play a part in the co nfu sion s un-oundin g epilepsy. The mo st recent 'grey area' for epi lepsy s ufferer s reported by the media, was that chi ldren with ep il e psy s hould not be allowed to watch video games, due to an a pparent link between epilepsy a nd video sc ree n s. Dr Besag is M edica l Director of St. Pier 's, Lingfield, in Surrey which cares for young children with epilepsy, he says that since only three per cent of c hildren with epilepsy are flicker o r pattern se ns itiv e, at le ast 95 per ce nt of c hildre n with epilepsy are not susce ptibl e to se izures prec ipitat ed by video games in this way.
At a rece nt conference on ep ilep sy he went on to explain that although video ga m es may precipitate seizures in subject who are susceptible it is important to ee thi s matter in perspective , video games do not cause ep il epsy. Excessive tiredne ss through playing video games for lon g period s may itself make seiz ures more likely and "ext rem e excitement induced by certain games may al so make se izure s more po ssib le ," sa id Dr Besag, " but makin g s ure that the child does not become over-tired, play for too long and a lso views the sc reen from a greater distan ce, will g rea tly reduce any risks," he added.
One of the main problems for epilepsy sufferers is the fear and ignorance surrounding the condition.
One area where people with epilep sy have found problems is in their search for work. The stigma attached to epilepsy remains and employers are wary, due to lack of knowledge about the subject, of employing someone with epilepsy.
Although there is no law gove rning the employment of people with epilepsy, it is covered very generally under the Health and Safety at Work Act where employees are responsible for their own sarfety and that of their colleagues. Failure to declare that you suffer from epilepsy could jeopardise your own safety and cause won-y and distress to your colleagues - therefore leaving you in breach of the Act.
Apri/1994
In addition, if you are obliged to fill in a job application form with a health declaration and you fail to declare your illne ss, you could also find yourself in breach of contract. Depending on the action taken by your employer your contract could be declared null and void.
It is important that s ufferers are aware of their rights and the legal requirement s not so lely in areas of employment but in all areas of both their perso nal and profe ss ional life. Children are particularly difficult. The diagno s ing doctor should make s ure that the parent s not only understand the condition but are put in contact with a help group or association involved in the treatment of epilepsy. It is then up to the parent s to ensure that the child is aware of the condition.
As with any i\lness, the more you know about the condition the eas ie r it is to come to terms with living with it. Epilep sy is a very complex illness into which a great deal of re search ha s been co nducted. To date there is no cure - until there is one, people with ep ilep sy can determine their own quality of life. The more positive and determined you are about beating epilepsy the better the life you can lead. With the help of organisations s uch as the BEA , s ufferers can receive the s upport information and guidance they need to realise that epilepsy is only in s urmountable if you let it be
Anyone intere ste d in finding out more about the condition should contact: The Briti sh Epilepsy Association at Anstey House 40 Hanover Square , Leeds LS3 lEE.
Welcome
The co urse aims to assess tm e sk ill s of p eo ple in St. John who take young people on hillwalking trips and is particularly appropriate for" those working with Cadets or the Duke of Edinburgh 's Award. Participants were examined on their ability to navigate preci se ly , including night n av igation, planning routes, assessing weather conditions, and First Aid sk ill s.
The Roy Follett Award
Diary dates
GTi First Aid Challenge
and we hope that both sc hool s a nd St. John will
St. John Joins Forces with Boots
With the recent launch of the New First Aid at Work package, St. John Ambulance is keen to ensure that all industries have at least one appointed first aider in all work places. To start the ball rolling, Boots has taken the lead in the retail trade with the introduction of their Health Care Business Strategy. St. John World reports on the special partnership between St. John and Boots.
The mlJrder of three year old Jonathan Ball and nin@ year old Tim Parry by an IRA bomb in Warrington last March shocked and angered the nation Over 100 people were injured as shops and stores in the WGlrrington Shopping Centre were reduced to rubble as parents and (hildren shopped for cards and presents for Mother 's Day.
The Emergency Services rushed to the scene to help the injured as did members of the shepping centre staff - amongst them were nine members of staff from 800ts The Chemists.
The nine who were outside tending to the injured when the secol'ld bomb went off, mirillLLJously escaped without injury. Over 80 p@opl@, in!l:luding the nine members ofr Boots staff have since been eomm@nded for their efforts at a special ceremony held at Willrrington Town Hall. It is especially sad that it takes a tragedy of sCillle to realise the importeilnce of emergency First Aid both in the wcrkplace eilnd in general.
11.1'1 employer is, by law, required to provide adequate facilities and equipm(mt fror enabling First Aid to be given to employees who are cr become ill at work. The form of provision depends on
18
various factors including the nature and the degree of hazards at work, whether there is shift working, what medical services are ava ilable and the number of employees The number of employees depends primarily on the degree of hazards but the Hea lth and Safety recommends that there is at least one first aider per 50 employees Obviously the more hazardous the workplace, the more first aiders required
Boots is offering 51. John Ambulance Appointed Persons First Aid training to over 600 of their employees by the end ef May An Appointed Person is someone who is authorised to take charge of the situation if there is a serious njury or illness
This step comes as a result of staff requests to be better informed and better prepared in matters of First Aid, driven by the fear of lack of knowledge and control in an emergency situation
The re are obvious direct benefits of being involved w ith a major retailer such as Boots and it is hoped that ult im ately, th is link will raise both publ c and consumer knowledge and awareness of First Aid training and of st. John Ambulance s role as the country's leadin g First Aid trainer.
"Boots is demonstrating the sort of commitment that we would wish to be associated with. "
In addition to staff training, Boots has also agreed to sell the 6th Edition First Aid Manual in over 120 of its largest stores. The manual, which is the 'bible' according to which ou r First Aiders are trained, will be available to everyone and will bridge the gap slightly for those members of the public who have no forma F rst Aid training
However, reading the First Aid Manual is no substitute for the handson training gained at First Aid courses
High profile displays will carry the First Aid Manuals and this will no doubt heilve knock-on effects for counties with members of the public requesting First Aid courses as a result.
This isn't the first partnership between st. John Ambulance and Boots. Last year as part of a publicity exercise, the BBC ran a very successfu series ca lled If the worst happens', an eight part series presented by Gavin Campbell. The highly successful series was broadcast from August to October, with each programme reaching an average audience of three million. In addition nearly 7500 people requested and received the First Aid for Children ' leaflet, which was produced by 5t. John and very generously sponsored by Boots.
With 1 6 million British employees admitted to hospital and 23 million working days lost each year the need for First Aid at WorK training is becoming increasingly evident. Philip Gee, Director of Training and Operations at st. John Ambu ance HQ, is delighted to see a major retailer such as Boots take the lead in this initiative. He says, "Baets is determined to have an Appointed Person in every store and this shows a commitment not only to their own staff but alga to the many thousalln ds of people wh o pass through thei r doors deily. Beets is demonstrating the smt of commitment that we would wish to be associated with. "
Left - Flowers from the parents of Jonathan Ball at the cemetrj in Warrington where he was buried.
LAZER by Customline
Accessible Transport Buses also available on most vans
Contact: Paul Thrush or Reg Halliley on 0484 400200 or fax 0484 401125 D'epartJDent st. George's HospiOOMe'lieal School : mature. . In Outcomes of Parry from the Department of Health will present the available evidence for counselling and psychological therapy . Professor Sue McDaniel, Associate Professor of Family Medicine at the University of Rochester , USA will explore the importance of family orientation in primary medical carein Collaborative Models of Care. For further details including a
For/ill'lber iJ!/orl71C1tiol1 contClct:
St. John World
Preventative Measures for Sufferers
• Stress
In some people stre ss can be a COntri. butory fac tor.
• Medicines
Tho se who first develop asthma as adults may be trigg e red by as pirin , non· stero idal anti-inflammatory table ts, so me blood pres s ure tablets, and some eye drops for g la ucoma P a racetamol is safe.
J. rlilhal 1ng them to prevent asthma.
2. Swallowing them to relieve acute or to control severe asthma
3. Injectin g them (always done by a doctor or nurse) for acute, severe asthma attacks.
Asthnta in the Workplace
The impact of asthma on individual s and society s e normou s. Primary co nce rn s are sc hools and workplaces. Around seve n million working days are lo s t eac h year because of asthma. Annually thi s costs an estimated £400 million in lo s t productivity £70 million in sick ness be nefit and £473 million to the NHS.
its li st of sensitising agents and the HAC examine s all the known scientific evidence at th e time.
"It's like having a heavy weight placed on my chest. "
(A sufferer's description of an asthma attack).
Asthma is the only treatable chronic con.dition in the Western World which is increasing in prevalence.
About 3 million people in the United Kingdom have asthma - 700,000 of them are under the age of 16. One in ten children and 1 in 20 adults suffer from this illness.
The mortality rate in 1992 from asthma was 1955 deaths and one study found that per cent of asthma deaths may have been preventable.
Asthma is a distressing condition in which the muscles of the air passages go into spasm and constrict, making breathing (particularly breathing out) very difficult.
Asthma attacks can be triggered by an allergy, or nervous tensic)ll. Often there is flO obvious cause.
The lungs have hundreds of tiny corridors, cailed a rways, that carry: the air we breathe in and out. In asthma sufferers the airways are almost always red and sore
20 St. John World
(inflamed). Becau se they are inflamed , the airway is quick to respond to anything that irritates them. Although they vary from person to person, these 'irritants include , cigarette smoke, cold air and flu and can cause the airway to narrow by tightening the surrounding muscles. As the airway narrows the inflamed and swollen lining of the airways produces s ticky mucu s. Thi s often, although not always, makes a wheezing noise when we breathe and seems to stay there even when we cough.
There are many causes but the most common are:
• Allergies
Some airways may be 'angered' into narrowing because they are allergic to something that is touching them. Allergies can include furry or feathery animals, dust, certain foods and pollen.
• Air temperature
A change in weather conditions can often affect people with asthma. This is particularly the case when breathing in large amounts of cold, dry air during exercise or laughter.
• Environment
C a r fumes, cigarette smoke and certain cl1l.eImicals can trigger alil attack.
• Infections
Flu and other vira l infections can start an attack.
The diffi c ulty with ast hma is that it is an unpredi cta ble illne ss. It ca n change as we get older a nd be triggered unexpectedl y. Symptom s can come or go or they can lasl for days. However th e re are some tim es of the day that are predictably low poin ts. Breathing may become difficult late al night or early in the mornin g - thi s is known as nocturnal ast hma. In this stale, s ufferers m ay be woken by their co ughin g or breathle ss nes There are al so people who only get the symptom of asthma during the day. But ge n e ra lly s ufferers are at their best by late afternoo n
Regular asthma s uffe re rs ge nerally knoll' how best to cope with an attack. Th e) us ually carry medication in the form of a puffer aerosol. The majority of the se drugs act to dilat e th e air passages, easing bre a thing
There are two types of medicin e for treating asthma; preventers (those that guard against the sy mptom s of asthm a happening at all) and relievers (those that re sc ue people from breathing difficulties a5 they happen by opening up the airways).
Another widely used form of treatmen t is steroids. These are a wide range of chemicals made both by th e body artificially. Only one group, the cortico· steroids, is used to treat asthma; similar those that the body produces naturaJl ) corticosteroids ClITe now made by phanna· ceutical companies.
Corticosteroid s work by reducing toe amount of inflammation, swelling mucus in the airways, a ll of which cauS! breathing difficulties. Unlike reliev er inhalers which work quickly to relievd asthma, cOr1!icoster(i)lms only begin to over a period of time.
How are they taken and what are side-effects?
In 1982 the Depart ment of Health and Social Security (DHSS ) started to r ecognise occupational ast hm a as a prescribed disease It i now pos ible to get compensation from the Departm e nt of Social Security (DSS) for th e ill - hea lth you suffer from a pre sc ribed di sease. The current Ii t of s ub sta nc es for which compensation ca n be claimed inc lu des ; Platinum sa lt s , isocya nate s, proteolytic e nzy me s and an tibiotic s ( thi s li s t is updated from time to time by th e DSS ). You ma y ge t co mp e nsa tion for occupational a thma if; one of th ese sub tances , ca ll ed se n s itising agents, is found at work or se ns iti sa tion to thi s particul a r s ub sta nc e has caused yo ur asthma. There are many potentially hazardous industries to work in (che mical s, plastics, e lec tronic s and pharmaceuticals, for exam pl e). The DSS takes advice from the Industrial Injuries Adviso ry Council (HAC) when prepa rin g
If you think you are entitled to compensation you s hould contact your GP , who may then refer you to ho s pital for s pecific tes s. Alternatively, you can get the DSS information leaflet from your local DSS office and try to find out for yourse lf. If after taking either of these steps you feel that you have occupational asthma, you s hould fill in form BI 100 eO A) and return it to your local DSS office, who will then decide whether you a r e eligible for compensation. Two doctors will then examine you and ask for evidence from your GP a nd/or ho s pital consultant. They then decide whether you have occupationaJ asthma caused by a reco g ni se d agent: if you do , th e n they decid e how di sa bled you are. You s hould receive a d ec is ion within weeks.
Asthnta in Children
For pare nt s it is always distressing to see their child wheezing and coughing regardle ss of how mild the asthma may be. Approximately 10 per cent of children are affec te d by a s thma in the United Kingdom. About 30 per cent of under fives have had at least one attack of wheezing.
Re ce nt s urv eys have shown that one in four children had more than two weeks off sc hool due to asthma in a 12-month period
As most young children have coughing or w hee z in g fits at so me stage, it s quite difficult to spot asthma in very yo ung children.
Children with asthma may have episodes (attacks) of breathless ne ss and coughing during which wheezing or whistling noi ses can be heard coming from the chest. They feel a tightness' in s ide their chest which is sometimes frightening and may cause great difficulty in breathing.
Individual children are affected by their asthma in different ways. One child may occassionally experience minor coughing bouts and breathlessness ; while another is unable to participate in games and is so metimes forced to stay off school. Sometimes a cough can be the only symptom of asthma.
It is important that teachers are infonned of a child's asthma. Inhalers, tablet s etc s hould be shown and discussed with the teachers ensuring that they know what to do if medication is required.
In mo s t cases only the use of modern treatments can help to avoid the sy mptom s of asthma but there are some allergic triggers that can be avoided:
• Grass pollen
This can cause severe attacks from late May to the end of June Children who are allergic to pollen may need to keep clear of flowering grass.
• Fumes Smoke and fumes from science experiments can provoke symptoms.
• Food allergy
Although rare , if a doctor asks a child to avoid certain foods it is important to follow thi s advice.
It is imperative that when a child with asthma joins the class, that the teachers are informed and if necessary have a consultation with the sc hool nurse and doctor or the child's own GP.
Always aJlow the child easy access to their medication never lock it away in a cupboard. Even the slightest delay in taking medication can cause unnecessary distre ss and can even be dangerous.Always remind the child to carry their medication on school trips. Discree tly remind the child to take medication before exercise classes and let the school nurse or doctor know if the child is absent a lot with chest problems.
Although there is no cure for asthma, preventative mea s ure s can ensure that the sufferer has as norn1al a life as possible. The National Asthma Association produce s a wide range of booklets on prevention in the environment, workplace, school etc for sufferers. Anyone interested in receiving copies should contact: The National Asthma Association, Providence HOllse, Providence Place, London N 1 ONT.
St. John World 21
County and mvisional News
Dear Editor , I have mixed feelings over the current review of whether FA W should be compul sory for Brigade members or not.
In m y area, most Divisional HQ s do not meet FAW (ie HSE) minimum requirements and our training centre s heavily booked making it difficult to run FA W co urses. It seems ridiculous that members ca n be aught almost anything in their own HQs but have to attend special centres for FA W training. Thi s s the bad side of FA W courses.
As a trainer I examine both indu stria l and Brigade perso nnel. I would expect Bri ga de perso nnel , who are suppo se d to train regularly , to achieve much higher stan dard s on requalification than their industrial counterparts but i n my experience the gap i s negligible in too many cases. Thi s indic ates to me that Brigade Training i s on the whole not adequate. I would, therefore , be very opposed to withdrawing FA W unle ss t was replaced with a suitable replacement in term s of stri ct reviews of members' skills. (It could of co urse be argued conversely that indu stri al training is of such a hi gh standard that there is no room for a noticeable gap; certainly do not think that thi s is the case and certainly Matthew Cullen 's report did not give that impression)
The introduction of modular training , which could extend to all Energy Programme courses , gives an ideal opportunity to give better assessment and more selective trainin g to members. The current FA W refres her courses fail because they are borin g and unproductive as a means of retraining tho se who have kept their skills up to date and they are inadequate for those members who have not kept sufficiently up to date. I personally would like to see the introduction of very inten sive and strictly monitored written, verbal and practical assessments r ather than co urses It could then be identified from these assessments, which units a member need s to retake.
Thus those who are well trained and can demonstrate that they are up to date with changes and of a good level of competence would be spared the need for irrelevant retraining At the other end of the scale tho se who performed badly throughout would need to undertake intensive retraining in a whole series of modules (equating to a full course in the given subject). Many would fall between these tw o extremes and would be required to complete modules commensurate with the weaknesses highlighted loy their assessments.
It would be interesting to see the re sults of a national Brigade survey of similar nature to
24 St. John World
the M atth ew Cullen 's i ndu stri al First Aid review , as the above is only based upon my own limited field of exper ience I have no doubt that my propo sal s have dr aw backs (for in s ance, I would want "exa min at ion team s" operatin g out of their own counties to eliminate familiarity) but I believe that suc h a syste m would be much fairer than th e current re gim e.
Yours JaifhJully Steven Hawksworth 0 /0 Alvaston Quadrilateral Division South Area, Derbyshire
"There are no plans or proposals to withdraw FAW as a basic qualificat on for Brigade members It is a statutorily recognised certificate and provides a consistent foundation to the Training Programme
We too are concerned about knowledge and skills decay as highlighted n the Cullen report. We are particularly concerned that three years is too long a period before requalification takes place , although this is particularly true of first aiders in the workplace where there is little or no opportunity for practice In the context of the workplace we are lobbying the HSE with a view to offering an alternative requalification process for those first aiders ie by yearly or half year ly practice sess on rather than three yearly requalification
As far as Brigade training and requalication is concerned there is a working party looking at a l aspects of this The underlying theme is certainly to simplify the process where possible but more importantly , to ensure that the standards being maintained are as high or higher than they are at present. This working party will meet during much of 1994 to ensure that all shades of opinion are canvassed and that as many ideas as possible are taken into account.
We would not' want to rush into any changes here unless and until we were certain that the proposals would be universally accepted. We also underline that our commitment is to maintain the highest possible standards and some of the ideas in the letter may well be appropriate to that process. have, in any evel1lt, passed the comments on to our working party ."
Philip Gee, Director of Training and Operations, NHQ
Do You Ma
D ea r Editor, The Crypt of St. John 's Chureh C1erkenwell s beautiful and well-lov ed by all, and co uld be co nsiderably enh anced so me bright chee rful kneelers bearin g Coat of Ann s of T he Order of St. John.
The pre ent knee IeI' have done val i erv ice and supported many pray erful kn ove r many years.
With he ag reeme nt of The Order, I appea lin g to members and ri end s to help making new tapestry kneelers for th e Crypt Kit containing ca nva s, wool , instru cti and graph for the Cross are avai labl e f T he Co e hill Collec ti on , Orchard Ho Amersham Ro ad, Chesham, Bu cks HP5 Tel: 0494 771737.
The price for the kit is £ 15 inclu iv e postage payable to th e Cole hill Collect i and the kit s w ill be ava il ab e frolll February. Comp eted tap es tri e shoul d re turn ed to me Mr Ruth Park s, MB E SI. John's Gate for stre tching and makin gu YOllr sjailiifh Mrs Ruth Parks , AI St. John 'sG LOll d
1. When the blood sugar level falls be low normal, the function of the brain is rapidly affected. What is this condition know as and who is it most commonly found in ?
4. The human body is designed to work best at what temperature ?
Answers on page 26.
A
Winter's
Tale
A winter duty is all very we , B ut on a Sunday morning , it can be hell I t 's wet, it's w ndy and awfu lly co d, I do n t wa nt to go, I hi nk I'm too old
Someo ne fa ll s down and cu ts his eg , W h y di dn t he si l l y sad stay in bed? Motorbike sc r amb es, horse riding too , W here does t hurt? Give us a cl ue.
5 What does this diagram show?
7 What do these two diagrams show? We clean an d we ba ndage , we p as and dress, It 's n ot our in ten tio n to boast L -----, impress.
Sp linters, b li sters, burn s an d a st in g, Relief and co m fo r we try to brin g.
T he r ainin g i s h ard, the ho urs are ong, " Il Wi th pract se and j udge m en t, I won' ge t it wro ng.
All ty pes of njuri es, we hav e oUT share, k Why do we do i t. B eca use we care... I, How do you treat a fi sh hoo emb edd ed in th e f nge r (t h e ba rb IS Chri stine B ealOf. not visibl e if m edica aid is not readi ly Rugeley D iJl i siO f ava la bl e? April 19, April 7994
9. Name three plants that are poisonous if swallowed.
3 What is concussion?
10. What is asthma?
4
5
6
7
8
lin e a ro und th e c ur ve of th e h oo k. Pr ess th e eye of th e h oo k d ow n o n th e fin ge r, p u ll s har p ly on th e lin e t o vv ith d ra w th e h oo k. If t h e eye ex te nds b eyo nd th e fin ge r, pa d und e r th e s haft and press th e eye d ow n o n th e paddin g. Cl e an and dr ess th e wo und Ensure that te tanus immunity i s up to dat e.
9 Fl y a g ari c, Laburnum ,Wild a rum ,D e ath c ap , Brow n roll rim, Sp o tt ed fl y aga ri c, C o rtinariu s sp ec ios si ss imu s (oft en m istak e n for th e e dibl e c hante re ll e ). Th e re are als o man y oth e r s not m e nti o n e d in th e 6th Editi o n Fir s t Aid Manual.
10 Thi s is a c ondition in whi c h th e mu s cl es of th e air pas sa ge s go int o spa s m and c onstri c t, makin g bre athin g (parti c ularly brea t hin g o ut) very
St.John Crossword
30
32.
33. Curve in vo lv ed in refl ex ac ti on (3)
34. Co nditi ons dea lt wi h in th e th ea tr e. (8)
35. Pl ants produ cin g g lu cose and oxyge n (5)
DOWN:
2. Id ea ind ica tin g that one is gro win g o ld (7
3. Th is anim a may infii c t a fa tal bite. (5)
5. Pun c h aro und a protrudin g a bd omen. (6)
6. Lo ok surre pti ousl y both ways. (4)
7. May be greate r or Ie se r part of per itoneum (7)
8. An an noy in g perso n pr odu c in g cervi ca l di sco mfo rt (1 .4. 2 3.4)
9 Wh e re the doc tor does his ro und s? (7.7)
10. Th is ri b has natio nali ty. (7)
16. Evil fa te ar s in g from
Jui
beg innin g dige
of
A shee p 's fo o fo r a ho rse. (7 )
in s. (7)
26. Carb ohydr ate- di ges tin g e nzy me of pan crea ti c jui ce. (7 )
27. Beg in s diges ti on o f car bohydr a tes (6)
Dress
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Jerusalem
Cheuea Flower Show
'.I 'he Hebron M"ss"cre "nd its Afterm"tb
(By Dr. John 0 ' Shea MD, Ophthalm i c Su rgeon )
De
I will never forget the events of Friday, 25 February, 1994. It was a day unprecedented in my experience. Perhaps the only exper ence of similar gravity that I can recall was listening to an old , scratchy, recording of Roosevelt's speech 0 1'1 the bombing of Pearl Harbour. He said that it was Ita day that will live in Infamy". Fr iday 2 S february was also a day o Infamy.
A s the tal y o f. the de;ad ;and the frightfu ll y wounded mounts, the fu ll tragedy of the day's events is only beginning tel show The Pa estinian community is under general curfew, unable to move fro m t h eir home s for fear of death or repri sal and the empty streets of East Jerusa em word le5sly witne ss a seem ng y end less re p ression and unnumbered, silen t fear s. Fr iday began with a n orma l, crowded C linic - i s Ramadan a n d the patients as usua l were in a hurry t o get to the Mosque to p ray
A t a b out 1 100 heJurs we got word that there was fighting ill the AI Aqsa (Jerusalem) mosque It was not until much later that we realised that the figh t ing was in response to the H@b ro n massacre
5t John immed iate y 5en t two ambulances to the scene and Dr Hani A wad, a Pa le stinia n surgeon, we nt with them . They h @lp ed in the t f ;a n sf er o f he wounded
A the hospita l Dr Pe t er Cooper, ano lIlrl er Aus t ra lian and mys el f stayed on to recei ve t h e wounded W e received severa l eye casua lti es ; t h ese included o n e young man who ha d hi s eye comp letely ruptu red by a rubber bu ll et a n d a twe ve year
Our
The
o d ies
One little man w h o mu st b e wel in to hi s sevent es , car r ed on e o he wo und ed o ut of he mos q ue He says tha t he was ter ri f ied but tru st ed n God 's pr otect ion Th e man was mu ch younger th a n him se lf a nd w as g ros sly wou n de d
When he got out sid e he att e mpt ed t o ca rr y t he wo unde d man to a Ho spit a l. He w as be a en to th e g round a n d hit in th e eye with a r if le butt His nj urie s a re co n s ste n t w ith hi s st ory
He ha s a den se h aemorr h age int o h e vi t reou s gel of t he eye and it s p ossi ble t h at th e m acu la th e mo st sensi ive part of th e ey e, s ruptu re d m eani ng seve re and pe r manen vi sual lo ss
Three of hi s c o sest f a mil y li e d ea d at He br on It is difficu lt to overempha s se the lo ss to th e Pa es t nia n community whi ch is aff ect ed n vastly d iff ering ways Th e ocal grocer cannot o pen a nd he s ex peri e n cing f ina n ci al diffi cu ties supporting hi s six children Ther e a re m a n y chi ld re n wome n and old men , like o ur litt e o ld m a n amo n gs t th e de ad an d w ounded
Let u s hop e th at t h os e w ho have di ed ha ve no t di ed in vain , that ins tead of vio e n ce b eg ettin g v iol e n ce th e sp ir a s broke n I by the de sire for true righteou sness and ju stice and pe ace
Concre e way s to a las tin g pea ce ex ist if one p e rson trul Y re spects the di g nity of another
Mo st build ng s in Ea st Jeru sale m ha ve shut down an d the si lence is oppressive Many who work h ere a re concern ed for their re ati ves on the We st Ban k and Ga za 5t. John con ti nues to offer it s se rvices to a ll th e peop les of th e Ho ly La nd and wi ll endure h e re lon g after the gha st ly event s at Hebron . (At the I moment it seem s t o be one of the f ew po sitive links betw een W es t ern n at ion s al'l d the Pa est inian community) Si t. John has operated its ho spita l here for ov e r on e hun d red ye ars I
Hopefully, f peop le a<L t w ith sufficien concern and respon sibi ity toward s 1i heir fe l ow h u man s it wil l endur e to find a bett e r f ut ur e.
Schoo/boy Crawls
Over Ice to Rescue Girl
Andrew Paice, aged 14 , crawled over 60 ya rd s across thin ic e to re sc ue a 12 yea r old girl who had fallen through it and into a lak e.
And rew Pai ce h a d bee n s n owba llin g wit h hi s friend at H e mlin gto n Lak e Middl es borou g h , whe n he hea rd Loui se Crocker sc rea m for he p. With o ut d e lay, Andrew s tart ed to walk ae ro s t h e ice toward s Loui e. " I was wa lk in g across the ce a t f irst, but I heard a m a n h o utin g at me to c rawl. I a lw ays watc h th e TV pro g ramm e '999 a nd I re membe r e d a similar re c u e on t h at. Wh e n I reac he d her I tri e d to ca lm he r d ow n li ke th ey do on t he re ll y. I think th at he lped," sai d Andrew.
'Tm a bit e mb a ra s ed by it a ll ," he added. " My fri en ds are ca llin g me a he ro and [ had to s ta nd up in a se mbly a t sc hool. "
Loui se wa trea te d fo r s ho c k a nd co ld but thankfu ll y wasn't se riou s ly injured. Sh e sa id , " It was horr ibl e w he n I fe ll throuo-h I co uldn 't ge t o ut a nd I was s ho utin g b sc rea min g. I didn think a nyon e co uld he ar me."
A poij ice s pok es ma n late r sa id that Andrew a nd Mr B e rn a rd Jenkin s the ma n who s hou ted advice to from the f rozen akes ide, would both be Co ns idered for brav e ry awar d May 1994
T h e C h e lsea F lo we r S ho w's Gala Pr eview is n ow firml y es tabli s h e d as o ne of th e m os t po pular a nnual eve nt s in th e society ca lendar. It pro vid es t he opp o r t uni ty t o s ee t hi s wo rld-reno w n ed hor t icultural ext ra va g a n za b e fo re it o ffi ci all y op e n s th e fo ll owi n g d ay - a
New Publication for the Order.
Found e d in e l e venth-century J e ru sa le m a s a ho spice for pilg r ims , The Ord e r h as played a m important military , reli gi ou s and political role in the history of Europe , the Mediterranean and the Nea r E as t over the succeeding c enturie s
Henry Sire s new book " Th e Knight s of Malta" describes and illu s trates the enormou s architectural and artI s tIC legacy of tbe Knights from Cru s ader castles in the Holy Land, to tbe medieval c ity of Rhode s the Malte s e capital of Valetta and manors, churches and fortified villages throughout Europe
These a s well as religiou s art portraiture , and illumina te d manuscripts are copiously illu s trated. A selection on the different Tongue s s hows the interna ional organ is ation of The O Jfde li while a chapter on the n avy discusses nhe strategic n aval role 0 ] its headquarters This c@ mprehensive history of The OrdeF also considers the Hospitallers ' importance in the history of medicine and medieval learn i ng.
" The Knights of Malta" by Henry Sire is published by Yale University and is now av ai lable For purchase from the Museum @f The Order @ f St John and from the Sup plies Department f or £39 00 (+p&p). A copy can be consulted at the Library at St. John's Gate
6 St. John World
Listen up, St. Johnners! st. John World is running a competit i on to find out how many generations of anyone family are involved in St. John Ambulance Anyone with more than one st. John Ambulance member p er family can enter.
It's very unusual in this day and age with ever-i ncre as ng statisti cal evidence of the break - up of the fam i ly to find an organ isat i on centr ed around the family and which you can be part of from 6- 60 y ears old So we want to find out how many generations of st. John members we ha ve countrywide
The winner will receive a framed colour photograph of th e w hol e family, taken by a profess i onal photographer
All you need do to enter is send details of how man y st. John members you have in your family including their names, addresse s and te ephon e numbers - so we can check their authenti city!
Winners will be notified by post and the Editor's decision is final
How many generations of St John is there in your family? Names
ST. JOHN FELLOWSHIP
(by Sheila Puck/e)
prov id e d by th e po n oring branc h St. He le ns and Know s ley.
I was I think , a tribute to the ucce ss and stability of the F e ll ows h ip and many of our friends from the o ld Duke of La nca te r 's D ist r ict. From M e r eys de itse lf we were privi leged to meet the Lord L ie u te na n t Mr Cotton, who attended as Pre s ident of he St. Jo h n Co unc l and vi l1 ual ly a ll the Co un ci l member I was e pec ia ll y g lad that Major General D e mond Gordon , th e first Cha i rman of th e Fell ows h ip , was with us and was warm ly app lauded.
Tw e lve new Br a nch es we re form e d dur ing the yea r, b r in g in g t he to ta l to 152. Of the e te n were in t he Un it ed Kingdom and two overseas includ ing the th rteenth Chapter in Canada in P r nce Edward Is land and th e ninth Bra nc h in New Zea la nd a t North Canterbury. ]n th e Un ted Kin g dom the re ha bee n a we lcome s p u rt in fonnat ons in the f irs t quarter of 1994 with seve n new Branc he . T here a re n ow e ig ht co unti es with five o r more Branc hes, b u t I regret to repo r th at there is st il l o ne Eng l is h co unt y w hi c h has nev e r know n w hat a n asset t he Fe ll ow h ip can be.
I n May 1993, I visited the t h ree Bra nc hes in Northel11 I re land. I was invited to attend the Award s Ce remony a Hill s bo ro ug h Castle at w hi c h T s poke o n he St. J o h n Fe ll ow s hi p. Late r , I m e t rep re e ntat ive of Lagan and Lo ndo nderry B ra nc hes a t the AGM of Bra id Bra nc h at Ba ll ymean. I rece ived a wa rm we lcome everyw here and wa s imp res ed with the enth usiasm of mem bers w ho ap prec iate to the f ull th e ir co n t inu ed serv ice in St. Jo hn , ofte n u nde r d i ff ic ul t co nd it io ns.
T he Fe ll ows hip ha c o n ti nu e d to Sup po rt T he Ord er and its Fou ndat io ns in num ero us ways. I wan to me n tio n he re the tribu te p aid by Mrs Stewar t- R o be r t ,
May 1994
hen S u pe rln tendent- in-Chi ef, at o ur AGM when he sa id that the Brea th of Life Campaign could not have been the s uccess i wa witho ut t he Fe ll ows h ip s u pport o n te lep hones all over the co u ntry. I t is h roug h s uc h a respo nse that co un ies co me to regar d th e r Branches as po s itive a se ts a nd s ill -act i ve m embe rs of St. Jo hn look forward to conti n uing th e ir se rvic e in them on retirem e nt.
Durin g 1993 the Ce n tra Committee of the Fe ll ows hi p was de lig h ted to be a b le to mee t in the Co u nc il Chamber of T he Ord er at St. Jo hn 's Gate , by k in d perm ission of the Secretary-Genera l. T his is n ow estab lished. A nother andmark was the pub licat ion of a Fe ll owship Leaflet, a great asset fo r p u b1ic ity and recru iting.
Fi nall y, I a m p roud to ann o un ce t ha t t he Fell ows h p ha s s uccessfu ll y completed anot her project for t he St. J o h n Op h thalm ic Ho s pi tal 111 Jer usalem. Members contrib u ted £2,760 to cover the training of a St udent urse , R aed Ali, who ha s do ne exceptio n all y we l l. We send him o u r bes t wis hes o n h is grad uat io n o n 5 May.
Test Your Know/edge
T h e word cheimacheimate hionochioneinetochionokeraunoebiommio m eans an all e rgy to th e wea th er, c old , w ind rai n and s now, d e ri vi ng fr om th e m e di cal nanles of the fo ur all e rg ies.
But th e re i s a G e nTI an wo r d of 7 0 let te rs, purp orte dl y co in e d b y Bi sm arck f or 'aponheca ry', w hi c h s Ge s undheits wiederhers tellungs mittelzu s ammenmis chung s erhaltnis skundiger.
As
Me & St.John
f took a c ourse of lectures really just to please afriend, f began to rake an interest to see it to an end,
Getting to Grips with VAT
+ 30 Injured in Air Crash
ACharter aircraft e n-route from Tenerife to Heathrow was severe ly damaged when it made an emergency' landing on a disused RAF airfield at Keevil, near Trowbridge, Wiltshire.
In late February, Air Traffic Control alerted the Police, who then contacted the Wiltshire County Ambulance Service only to find them fu ll y committed to a major pile-up on the M4 motorway.
An emergency call was therefore made to the county's St. John Amb ul ance and British Red Cross Society, which mobilised local ambu lance units to go to the sce ne. There, they discovered all 30 passengers and crew on the plane had s urviv ed a nd though susta inin g multiple injuries and shock, had managed to reach the safe ty of a fanner Airfield Contro l Tower.
Thankfully , the 'air crash wasn ' t real and was in actua l fact a controlled, simulated, disaster scenario. This was the first of a projected series of exercises, designed to test Wiltshire Voluntary Services' ability to cope with a major civil incident in li aison with the County Amb ul ance Service.
for c h a riti es i wide ly mi s und e rs tood by the gene r a l publi c Many peopl e beli e ve that c h a riti es do not pay VAT at a ll , whe reas the tru e po ition is that mo s t ge n eral ex p e nditure. s uch a on building repair , office furni tur e telecommunication s e tc are li a ble to VAT.
There are a number of s peciali st re li efs from V AT , in c ludin g on medical equipment and amb ul ances, but the se are not as wid e as SI. John would like " On e of my a im s is to e ns ur e that St. John is not charged V AT incorrectly a nd that th e full benefit s of the relief are rece iv ed," says Peter.
St. John do es nee d to be awa re of th e s cope of V AT as it s in come s often regard ed by Customs and Excis e as business'.
Peter work at NHQ two days a week and most of hi s time is spe nt on the telephone dealing with VAT querie s from counties which h e sa ys he we lco me s ! Any co unty req uirin g a dvi ce on VAT s hould contact Peter at NHQ on exte ns ion 280. May 1994
The four-hour emergency drill was realistically carried out by aro und 80 dedicated men and women, who included 24 volunteer 'crash victims , expert y made-up and rehearsed in heir roles, by the Cas ualties Un ion
Four fully crewed ambu lances and a back-up stores ve hicl e from Sl. John Wiltshire South and West Divisions and four ambulances from the Red Cross were at the airf ield within an hour of the ca ll -o ut. The first from Melksham arTivin g only 20 minutes after the a lert. The air cras h survivors were made co mfor ta bl e in a mak e-shift treatment stat ion at the base of the co ntrol tower, assessed for priority, g iv en Firs Aid treatm e nt and then loaded into ambul ances for despatch to th e nearest hospital.
The practice whi c h received comp lim e nt ary lo cal press and rad io Cove ra ge, was personally observed by Wiltshire St. John Ambulance senio r officers in c ludin g; Commander Lady Hawley, Commissioner Dr John Parsons and President Mrs Giannetta Carr.
The pressure points and broken bones , the breathing , bleeding, shock,
Tried hard to remember but got a mental block , I should never be a member of St. John.
Exams are ov er , wasn t bad , I think I did quite well,
I proudLy wore my uniform on a trip to ClerkenweLl, First duty at the racecourse, a lot of people there. Panic stations, could I cope? Of course I cou ld, no fea r ,
'Cause now [ was a member of St John
Duties come and go and time is going fast, Now I have my sergeants stripes, another hurdle past , An accident (off duty) and bodies lying there, Hear a burly policeman saying " You did very well my dear."
[ reply, " WeLL [ am a member of St. John "
Competition cups to w in, some happiness , some tears
Long service presentation wi th friends offifteen years, Now we need an officer, they ask me willI take it,
Just a few more exams to pass , oh well I guess I'll make it.
A ll steps on rhe ladder of St. John.
Five more years have swiftly passed, a si lver bar ach ieved,
But with it comes retirement , my turn has come to leave ,
Quietly with sadness , things will never be the same , Then r m asked to be Vice President, so off I go again.
I can still be a member of Sf. John.
Now I'm with the Fellowship still part of the Brigade, No more exams or uniforms and somewhat in the shade
Still meeting friends offormer years and playing my small part
In the wo rth while service of mankind as I did right at the start.
I guess I'll a lwa y s be a member of St. John.
HEATONS MOTOR COMPANY
NTACT: MR. G. SCOTT 0924 4 72403
The Silent
What ;s Cancer?
Our bodies are made up of millions and mi ll ions of cells which are continually multiplyiJ;1g to replace those that are old and dying. Just before a cell divides in two , it copies its genetic information which is contained in chromosomes. The new cells await a signal to divide again. If however the cell has been altered in some way and its genetic infom1ation damaged , the new cells cou ld become cancerou s Cancer cells multiply very rapidly be cause they do not receive or they fai l to obey , the normal signals to stop growing. A lump of these uncontrolled cells is called a tumour. Not only do they multiply rapidly , they can escape from the tumour and get into the blood or lymphatic system and invade other parts of the body. Cancer cell s break away from a tumour and infiltrate the blood stream or lymph system , thus spreading the cancer to other area s of the body. Thi s process is called metastasis.
What Makes Tumours Grow?
Growth factors (substances which encourage cells to grow and multiply) lock onto proteins called receptors on the cell wall. Thi s action gives the cell a message to mUltiply. Tumours with lots 0f receptors tend to grow faster so patients have awol' e outlook.
In the 1970s Imperial Cancer scienti sts discovered a gene called p53 which is mutated in many common cancers, including "breast cancer. Normally p53 suppresses cell growth, but if it s faulty it allows cells to grow in an uncontrolled way.
High levels of mutated p53 are often associated with high levels of a particular growtbl factor receptor in breast cance r patients. By taking biopsies from breast tumours and analysing them to identify any changes in p53 which suggests a more aggressive tumour, they hope to develop a therapy for harness ng the body ' s own ImmUne system to counteract changes in p53. Tumours need a good blood supply contailijing oxygem and nutrients to survive. They manufacture special factors (angiogenic fac tors) to stimulate the growth of the new blood vessels. Developing this network of blo0d vessels also enables the thl l'H OUr to metas uasise.
May 1994
Scientists are exploring ways of blocking these angiogenic factors so the blood vessels don t grow and the tumour is starved of oxygen. They are also investigating factors that stimulate the growth of endothelial cells (cells which line blood vessels in tumours) , attempting to find ways of blocking them with drugs attached to monoclonal antiobodies (antibodies which carry anticancer drugs to cancer cells but avoid healthy cells).
The task of any cancer drug is to destroy more cancer cells than normal cells. Many do this by damaging the DNA (the genetic material in every cell containing the information the cell needs to function and produce). If the DNA i s damaged the cells can't reproduce and die. But cancer cells have a range of defence mechanisms they use to protect themselves against the drugs. Thus making it even more difficult for scientists to develop a cure
Myths
One of the biggest myt.hs in recent years is that there is a Cancer epidemic caused by exposure to radiation, pollution, pesticides and food additives. The reality is that these factors have very little to do with the majority of cancers in this country. In fact, food additives may have a protective effectparticularly against stomach cancer.
Causes
Smoking
- Over one third of cancers are caused by smoking but, by contrast, only 2% are estimated to be linked to pollution. The biggest known cause of cancer after smoking is alcohol consumption, but even this accounts for only 3 % of cancer deaths.
We are all aware that there are several ways to reduce your risk of developing cancer; don't get sunburnt, take up offers of screening, eat a healthy diet and most important of all don't smoke!
Smoking is the greatest single cause of premature death in Britain. Not only does it cause cancer, but it also causes lung and heart disease In fact even more smokers are killed by heart disease than by cancer.
Professor Richard Peto, Head of the Cancer Studies Unit (CSU) says , " About one fifth of the people now living in developed countries are going to be killed by tobacco unless current smoking habits are changed Out of a total population of just under one and a quarter billion, about 250 million will die from smoking (the equivalent of the entire population of the USA)."
A normal lung versus a cancerous lung.
One of the most alarming trend s of recent years shows that there is am increase in female deaths from smoking. Lung cancer ha s overtaktm breast cancer as the major cau se of death in women in Scotland and Northern England and may do the same in the rest of England.
By comparison, the number of lung cancer deaths are starting to faU in younger women in england and Wales This is of course subject to continuimg to give up smoking. In the UK, about 148 ,000 people die every year because they smoke. Fifty thousand of the se deaths are from cancer , mostly of the lung.
Infectious Agents - There is also growing evidence that some c3!l1cers are caused by infectious agents. In particular, infections have been linked with stomach and cervix Gancers and Kaposi' s sarcoma, a rare cancer which is common in AIDS patients
Diet - Scientists are beGOming increasingly convinced that the development of certain types of cancer is linked to diet, most commonly breast and bowel cancer. However there is no concrete proof to date of which dietary factors are most important.
Vitamins - Recent studies suggest that a low carotene and Vitamin C intake could be associated with a higher risk of e1eveloJilimg breast cancer. The study, based on earlier work in which mammograms (breast X-rays) were placed if} femr different categories ranging from normal to abnormal according to different patterns in the loreast tissue. Women with 1i>reast patterns tailing int@ the abnomal category ie those with a low carotene and Vitamin C intake had a higher risk of developing cancer.
Hormones - A number of cancers , particularly breast Camcer have a horrmmal link Scienti sts at the CSU are inves tigating the effects of taking extra hormones such as the Pill, HRT or fertiLity drugs om the Fisk 0:t developing cancer. A study by the CSU showed that there is a slightly increased risk
12 St. Johl1l World
Above - Squamous CIA Br onchu s
Right - Th e make- up of th e blood witth acute myeloblastic leukemia
of brea st cance r among Pill use rs und e r the age of 36.
Hereditary - There s a family link in a very small numb er of cance rs. When more than one member of a famil y ge ts cancer, it is usually by chance - it is impOitant to remember that ca ncer affects one in three people at some time in their life. It could also be associated with the family li festyle ie smoking habits etc.
Types of Cancer
Lung cancer
British smokers puff the ir way throu gh more than 80,000 tons of cigarettes every yeardespite the fact that lun g cancer is now the most common fata l cancer in the world.
Every year in this country about 138 ,000 people die because they smoked cigarettes. Every two hours so meone die s from lun g cancer in Scotland This is the highest rate per 100 ,000 population in th e world.
Sir Rich ard Doll an honorary member of the ICRF CSU in Oxford , and Sir Au stin Bradford-Hill proved th e link be tw ee n cigarette smoking and lung ca ncer over 40 years ago.
the 1940s there was an enormous increase in cases of thi s form of cancer and they were able to show that it wa s a direct resl!lh of a huge il1cliease iii! sm oking that began 40 years previously. It is probably because of this time-lag between stalting to smoke and on set of disease that S0 lWlalJY people have been prepared to ignore the evidence and continue smoking. According to Profess0r Peto those wfuo stop smoking before they have contracted cancer {or some NRer serious disease) avoid most of their risk of
began, but for th e fo ll ow in g seventy years or no progress was made.
The 1950s saw t he advent of the f irst drugs effect ive in the treatment of leukaemia. By 1960 the first bone ma rr ow tr ansplant was taki ng pla ce, however o nl y tr a ns plant s between identical tw in s were attempted In leukaem ia, t he nOlllla l cont ro mechani sm breaks down and the bone marrow starts 10 prod uce large num ber of ab no rm a l ce ll s of a sin gle ce ll ty pe. It is as if th e production has become f ixed at some ar bitr a ry po in t a lo ng the maturat ion pa thways. T he ce ll lineage affected is alm ost a lway o ne of the white ce ll types. The e abnorma l le uk aemic ce ll s beg in to nake over th e bone marrow and spill out in vhe bl ood stream a nd the lymph system, a nd vit al orga ns may become infiltra ted. As a result th e bone ma rr ow is no lo nge r ab le to maintai n produ ctio n of norm al ce ll type and th e whole ba lance of the blood is d ist ur bed.
Th e re a re fo ur ma in types of leukaemia: Acute mye lo id eukaem ia, c hr o ni c mye lo id leukaemia , ac ute lymphobl ast ic leukaemia and chr o ni c lymphocytic leukaem ia.
dying fro m tobacco. After 10 years their ri sk will be more than ha f way towards that of so meo ne who has neve r s moked.
How ever, if they carryo n smoking the s tory if different. Smokin g ca u es one- third of all Briti s h deaths in th e middle age (40-69). These people lose, on average, 23 years of life ex pec tancy
Leukaemia
Frequently assoc iat ed with ch ildre n, le uk ae· mia str ik es over 5 ,500 people in the UK every year and kill more than 4.000.
Le uk e mi a was first identified as a definabl e di sease in 1845 by two independent ob· se rv ers. John Hughes Be nn e tt , lect urer in c lini ca l med icine a nd pathologist a the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh , publi hed hi s obser· vations in th e Edinburgh 'Medical Jo urn al of Oct o ber 1845, a month before Rud olf Virchow, t hen a demonstrator in pathological anatomy at the Charire Ho sp ita in Berlin. publi shed hi s f indin gs in Nove mb er 1845.
Th e outstanding characteristics at post· mortem were enlargement of the s pl ee n and the appearance of the blood as a "ye ll ow ish· white almost gre e ni s h mass" In 1847
Virch ow used th e nam e " leuk ae mi a", Greek for whi te blood and Benne tt in 1851 nam ed the di sease "le uooc yt hae mia ", Greek for white cell blood How eve r, it is unlik e y thai the di sease wa s new in 1845 for there had been earlier repolts of what we re described as peculiar co ndition s of the blood with some s ymptom s oompatible with tho se of leuk emi a.
The latter part of the last century saw the di scovery of the importance of the bone marrow in tille fmm at ion 0f blood. li3y then sc ientists were using more modem mi sero· scopes and the technique of staining blood cells revealed the vaJiiGlus types of wide blood ceB that had lip unnil then been unse en of unsu spected A mew era in ha ematolo gy May 1994
d ied of breas t ca nce r a nd 1,547 from lun g ca ncer.
The overall five year surv iva l rate is 62%.
Howeve r, th e ea rli er the ca nce r is diagno se d , the greate r the chances of s ucce ssful treat ment. The surv iva l rates by stage of disease are: Stage I - 84%, Stage II - 7 1%, Stage III - 48%, Stage IV - 18%. Stage I is an ea rl y cancer and Stage IV is o ne whi ch has s pread to seve ral orga ns.
Breast cance r s trike s wo me n mainl y ove r the age of 60. The hi g hest numb e r of deaths is in the 65-79 year age gro up It is ve ry rare in yo un g wome n
Ovarian Cancer is very c ur ab le whe n caug ht at an ea rl y stage. It h as a surv iva l rate of 90%.
How eve r many patient s do not have th eir ca nce r detec ted at thi s stage and as a res ult it is known as the 's il ent ki ll e r beca use patient s do no t usua ll y s how ymptoms until th e d iseases has sp rea d. Th erefore the s urvival rate ca n be as low as 28%.
There are abo ut 5,550 new cases a year and 4,350 deaths. It is the fift h mo s t common ca ncer in wo me n
Leuk aemia represe nts 5% of a ll ca nce rs. The di sea e doe not pre e nt it e lf in a reg ul ar patte rn and it compa rat ive rarity he lps to exp lain its irreg ul a r di st ribution It can affect anyo ne, at any tim e and a t a ny age.
Lu ck il y le ukaem ia i one of t he mo s t trea tab le of all cance r It is mo st commonly treated usin g c hemotherapy a nd radiot he rapy. In more se ri ou cases, a bon e marrow tr ansplant may be req uir ed.
Chemotherapy refer to the u e of dr ugs whic h kill rapidl y growin g ce ll s. The e drug can affect bo th le ukaemic ce ll s and norma l cell s and mu t be adm in istered very ca refully.
Mo t pat ie nt s w ith ac ute le ukaemia ac hi eve a remiss ion at so me s tage wit h treateme nt ie th eir bone marrow and bloo d are ap pare ntly res tore d to nOIlll a l. Howev er, t hi s does no t neees aril y mean that he or she is cured and all the leuk aem ic ce ll have bee n de st royed. The rec ull'e nce of le ukae mia afte r a period of remi s ion is refe rred to a a relaps e.
Radiotherap y use hi gh energy ray to des troy malignant (ca nce r) cel l whil t ca us in g a li tt le damage a pos ibl e to oth e r ti ss ue. Its main use in le ukae mi a treatment is to try to kill any le uk ae mi c ce ll s w hi ch may have passed into the nervoLls yste m
Bone marrow tran.spla nt at ion i th e re placement of a patient 's ow n bone marrow with that of ano th e r per on The dec i ion to transplant is a big one and the c hance of SUCcess and fa ilure for eac h pati ent mLl t be weighed up aga in st the othe r met hod of trea tm enfi.
Women's Cancers
Brea&t cancer is the most com mon ca noe r in women in this co un t ry. There are nearl y 27,000 new cases eve ry year in the UK an d aiDOlllb 15,400 dea th s Howeve r in IU lQg cancer has breas; ca nce r as the major cancer killer of women. In 199 1, l ,278 May 7994
before seeking help Docto rs believe that this is e ither du e to th ei r bei ng e mb arressed at havi ng what ma ny co ns id e r a fe male d isease o r th ey are un awa re of the po ss ibility of de velo pin g ca nce r.
Ot her sy mptoms are ulceration s, pain and e nl arged lymph g land s under the a rm Brea s ca ncer in men is mai nl y treated in th
Melanoma Skin Cancer
Cervical cance r is one of the few ca nce rs that ca n be diagnosed at a pre-ca nce rous stage through sc ree nin g. Near ly a ll the wo men who die fro m thi s fom1 of th e d isease have never had a s mear test.
Over 4,500 new cases are reported eac h yea r and a lm ost 1,900 death s result. The fi ve year sur viva l rate is 58 %, bu t at least ha lf of t hose who died could have been save d if they had co me forward fo r scree nin g. I t is the seve nth mos t common ca ncer in wo me n
Cervica l ca ncer s common in olde r wo men. Howeve r the numb er of yo un ge r women gett in g the disease is on th e increase.
Between 1960 and 1980 cervica l ca ncer in the under 35s wen t up by 200% whil e the death rat e in c reased by 72%. De pite thi s in crease ce rvical cancer is rare in thi s age gro up and the in creases a ppear to have tabilised. They acco un t fo r o nl y 15% of a ll cases.
Men's Cancers
Testicular cancer occur in g mostl y in men aged between 15 and 49, is the mo s t common fOIll1 of ca ncer in yo un g me n. However, it is till quite rare wit h on ly 1,250 new case per year and 125 deat h in the UK. It one of the most cur a bl e ca nce rs, with over 90% of patient s mak in g a co mpl ete recove ry and if the di ea e i ca ug ht at an ear ly stage, s ur v va l is alm o 100%.
As w ith mo st ca ncers ea rl y detection can improve th e resu lt of treatment.
Breast canc er a lth o ugh InO t co mm on in women , it ca n a l 0 affec t men. Eve ry year abo ut 20 0 new ca e are diagno se d in th e UK. T he maj orit y of men who ge t breas t cance r a re ove r th e age of 60 a nd a pprox im ate y 60% ur vive for at least five yea rs or more.
The most co mm on sy mptom is a pa inless lump but patients may wait up to 18 month s
The tumours start as small brown or black ma rk s on the sk in They are so
im
d to dist in g ui s h fro m ordi nary moles and may ari se from a mole At an ear ly stage the ca nce r can be c ured by surgery. How eve r, treatment is more diffic ult if it has spread. Chemotherapy (drug trea tment ) is not very effect ive, but radiotherapy can rel eve some sy mptoms. So, ea rl y diagnosi s is esse nti al and cras h clinics, whi ch ca n see patient s within a week of symptoms be in g reported, are being se t up across the co untry.
Melanoma has one of th e fas tes rates of in crease a mo ng white races of all th e cance rs - es pec ia ll y in the you ng and middle-aged. In Australia and New Zea lan d it is now th e com monest ca nce r affect in g yo un g adults. Every year in the UK 645 me n and 640 wome n die from thi fo rm of the di sease
There is co ns iderable evi de nce that ski n cancers arise as a res ult of damage to the ski n ca used by expos ure to ultr av iolet li ght. In Brit ain , faml e rs and outd oo r workers are mos f req uentl y affected by non-melanoma. On the ot her hand, melanoma te nd s to strike th ose who have interm itt e nt ex pos ure to inten se s unli g ht - eg an indoor worker who has a two week holid ay in the Meditteranean eve ry year.
People at risk from melanoma include those:
1) With a hi g h numb e r of mole s (50-100 )
2) With red or fa ir ha ir blue eyes, fair skin and freck les.
3) Who ta n with diffi cult y and bum eas il y in th e sun
4) With a hi tor y of th e di sease in two or more family me mb e rs.
2,290 women per year get melano ma, co mp ared with 1,3 00 me n This form of St. John World 13
Above - An elderly woman suflering form malignant melanoma oftheface.
- Malignant melan.oma as un.der the microscope.
cancer mainly occurs in the 40-60 age group, but it can strike at any age. Children however, are rarely affected.
There are seven points which hel1p to identify melanoma:
1) Increasing size - particularly in sUlface area - early melanomas grow, but ordinary moles in adults (especially over the age of 35) do not.
2) Most melanomas have an irregular outline.
3) Colour - the majority of melanomas show a lot of pigment variatjon and are usually a mixnure of brown and black. They can also be red, due to inflammation, or have a blue-tinge due to partial clearing in the centre of the melanoma.
4) Inflammation - many ear ly melanomas are inflamed or have a reddish edge.
5) Crusting or bleeding -sli ght oozing is a common sy mptom and causes the melanoma to stick to clothing.
6) Itch - this is the only common symptom. However, ordinary moles can also itch.
7) Satellite lesions - small brown cha nges around the edge of the mole.
Any brown mark with three or more of these characteristics should be shown to a doctor.
Prevention is always better than cure and you can avoid the risk of skin cancer by doing the following:
I) Avoid being burmed by the sum.
2) Avoid the SUllij IDetween II and 3.
3) Cover up in the sun.
4) Wear strong s un screens to protect your skin when it is not covered. Redheads Or people with freck les Need at least Factor 15.
The Cancer Epidemiology Unit, Oxford, is conducting a study of congenita l moles and those that appear in ea rly chi ldh ood. 'J1he relationship between the appearance of moles and various risk factors, genetic and environmental , are being investigated. The Mathematics, Statistics and Epidemiology Department and Skin Tumour Laboratory started a study in 1989 on the effects of artificial light sources, hormones, sun li ght and diet on the development of melanoma. The study is due to run for five years.
Melanoma strikes very quickly result from one case of extreme sunburn. For many people a deep tan epitomises a good summer holiday, but it is important 10 remember that tanned skin is damaged skin.
The more time you spend in the sun , Ihe higher the ri k of contracting melanoma.
The ICRF provides extensive, compre· hensive information on melanoma and all cancers, in addition to providing a support network for sufferers and their families W"""\\\;;' Anyone interested in finding out more aboul cancer should contact the ICRF, PO Box 123, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London WC2A 3PX.
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1993 / 4
Welcome to our Fundrais· Best Sellers Catalogue 1
It's brimming with the best and most exciting make your summer fete and bazaar a great With the current craze for dinosaurs there 's th new bumper profit making dinosaur tombola money -spinning draw tickets , lots of top selling I dips and pocket money favourites , plus a host of :.:z,,_-n popular ready-to-play games. All designed to your event a 'best seller', and backed by the Ba Ross money - back guarantee!
Dino's choice every ti
Complete th e In voice / Order remembering to in c lu de the produ c t reference code All pri ces quoted in c lude VAT. Minimum order value is £19 95 , and all goods ordered must be in the quantities as stated Th en send th e order form to us together with your cheq u e or po s tal ord er made payabl e to Baker Ross Ltd. Or , include your credit card d e tails Post your order to: Baker Ross Ltd ., Unit 53, Milmead Ind. Estate , Mill Mead Road , London , N17 9QU
N.B The delivery times quoted are from receipt of order therefore remember to add 2 n: these times when sending your by first class post.
SUBSTITUTION
For a FREE copy just ring 0818086948
j t>,: ' SAF£TY , FIRST , - Every effort is made to ensure that all our products are safe All items in this leaflet are purchased from reputable suppliers and comply to British and European Safety Standards We aim to cater for a variety of ages and therefore leave it to the diicretion of our customers to assess whether a child is old enough for any par1icular item , and to ensure it is sensibly use€l. Items in this catalogue ji rr e (let suitable f0f children under three , unless otherwise stated
( If order form is missing , please write or telephone for another) BY PHONE 081 808 6948
You can speed up your order by pla cing t over the ph one using your Access , Visa or Switch Credit Card W e suggest you fill out the order form first making a note of th e product reference code , and then read it to us over the telephone The Credit Card Orderline is open from 9 30am to 5 00 pm Monday to Frid ay
CARRIAGE & DELIVERY
All Baker Ro ss parcels are despatched in the UK via the Royal Mail Pa rce l Service. Always quote your postcode when ordering as insufficient postal code delays delivery.
Po stage and p acking is £1 75 irrespective of how mu ch you order , to the UK Mainl and, Northern Irel and and the C hann e l Isl ands by our standard d e liv ery service of 2 1 days from re cei pt o f orrder.
For urgent orders we offe r the following services at an additiona l cost (B riti sh Mainland only ):
If for any reas on an item shown be co m e un av a il " bl e , a sub stitut eol v alu e and app ea will be made to di sa pp o intm e nt , unl ess you oth erw is e.
ALL PRICES QUOTEbEDDY ' S SUPER LUCKY DIP TUB IN THIS LEAFLET AR otop-selling favourites in one INCLUSIVE OF V.A,T e120assorted toys and novelties per '--------------'JO, each polybagged with header, with 20 '- - arieties to choose from They re ideal for • lrize-a-time games Add to the fun by '-l the lucky dips in tissue paper , Your GTTA D,4
UiU\I1Jl'l££ Retail 18peach -' ORDER WITH C Our ONFIDENCE I, TEDDY'S BUMPER TOY TUB Ref:L2 money-back 11ls popular bumper assortment of 60 reason you Just that/II for an y lyS and novelties (20 varieties per tub) quality and value With the lr boys and girls is one of our best Simply ellers Ideal for pr!ze-a -time games , lucky refund days of receipt for a fu ll party giftS , pnzes and resale c redit or exchange All ,ost £9.45 per tub (Unit cost 15p each) ensure thas been taken 10 Retail 25-30p each accUrat ei I em In thiS leaflet IS 1.-___________ every and we make TY EGGS Ref:L4 III ws trated Pie Pply the goods as dhlldren will love to crack' one of our eggs re turn ed for ensure all articles ,or asurprise novelty They are ideal for Co nditi on are In a resaleab/e 1f:ran,tubs or lucky dips as no wrapping is 2 Also Ideal as pnzes for pnze -a.> ':-7' per unit.
I.::! lj ,ost £9.95 per 100 Retail15p each
D. TEDDY'S HORROR DIP TUB Ref:L5
Give your lucky dip a horror' theme with teddy 's collection of spooky dips There are 7 varieties of toys per tub of 72 Each individually bagged with header card.
Cost £6.95 per tub Retail18p each
E. TISSUE PAPER (Not illustrated ) Ref:AC8
Ideal for wrapping Lucky Dips, Presents , Party prizes etc 12 sheets of blue and 12 sheets of pink per pack. Size 50cm x 75cm per sheet.
Cost £1.95 per pack
SAFETY FIRST
Some of the items in the Lucky Dip Tub , Toy Tub and Novelty Eggs are not recommended for children under four Our toy selections aim to cater for a variety of ages We therefore leave it to the discretion of the customer to assess whether a child is old enough for any particular item , and to ensure that it is sensibly used
at £16.95 each at £4
Our ever-e xpanding range of popula r Tombola Games are sure -fire fundraisers and offer you big profits at all fundraisil1lg events All toys supplied are manufaGtured to British and European 5afety Standards and are carefully chosen for their quality and appeal , catering for all ages and tastes
All our Fundraising Tombolas must be pre -paid Qut are supplied on a FUll
SALE OR RETURN bas is (see sale or return ). The only risk you take is the carriage on any returned prizes and the cost of the tickets. The sale-or-return facility gJives yo w the opportunity of providing m@re variety at your fundraising event without the financial burden
Use our 'Tombola Ordering Guide' to help you decide how many and what to order fOf the anticipated attendance
Kindly note that tickets and prizes are supplied on the cond tion that the net profit goes to t he charitable organisation named on the orde r form
All items offerecl in our tombola games can be purchased separately for those wishing to make up their awn tombola games.
Each Tombola is supplied wi th a set of prizes , a unit of sealed tickets and free poster displaying the winning numbers. The public buy the tickets for 1Op to 20p each and upon opening them check the number inside against the Free Winning Number Poster. Lucky winners then receive top quality Soft Toys , Teddy Bears or Footballs according to the Tombola Winner and loser tickets are supplied mixed , but we do advise you to mi x them up well before offering them for sale
SALE OR RETURN
All tombolas must be pre-paid. However , if after your event you have any prizes left over you can either sell them off , use them as raffle prizes or return them to us for full credit. We will give full credit on unused goods and on Tombola tickets in their cGmf9lete sealed unit , but the carriage on your returns must be paid by you and received by us within seven days after your event.
Details
HOW TO ORDER
FREE FUNDRAISERS HANDBOOK 1993/4
52 pages of fundraising ideas and products for fetes and bazaars Extensive range of lucky dips , pocket money toys , games , tombolas , jewellery, stationery, party products etc to make your event the best ever ! For a FREE copy simply tick the box on the ORDER FORM opposite and we will enclose one with your goods!
Ind. Estate, Mill Mead Road, London N17 9QU.
Or for
You can speed up your order by placing it over the phone using your Access , Visa or Switch credit card . We suggest you fill out the order form first making a note of the product reference code , and then read it to us over the telephone. The Credit Card Orderline is open from 9 .30am to 5.00 pm Monday to Friday
CARRIAGE & DELIVERY
All Baker Ross parcels are despatched in the UK via the Royal Mail Parcel Service . Always quote your postcode when ordering as insufficient postal code delays delivery Postage and pack ing is £1 75 irrespective of how much you order, to the UK Mainland, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands by our standard delivery service of 21 days from receipt of order. For urgent orders we offer the following services at an additional cost (British Mainland only)
SERVICE TIME COST
PRIORITY 10 workinQ days add 95p
EXPRESS 4 working days add £2.95
DRAW TICKET 2 weeks add £10.00
EXPRESS '-
* Express charge to Northern Ireland, Channel Islands and Scottish Highlands & Islands is £5.90.
N.B. The delivery times quoted above are from receipt of order by us, therefore remember to add days to these times when sending your order by first class post.
If for any reason an item shown should become unavailable , a substitute of equal value and appeal will be made to avoid disappointment , unless you request otherwise .
A. MINI TROLLS Ref: P39
The latest craze! 4 5cm high collectables make great penc il toppers , desk pals or trendy pendants. 6 dozen per tub
Cost £10.95 per tub Retail25p each
B. DINOSAUR TROLLS Ref: P60
Cash in on two children's crazes at once with these 4cm mini mascots that make ideal pencil toppers 5 dozen per tub
Cost £9.95 per tub Retail30p each
C. NOVELTY ERASER TUB Ref: S3
A fun collection of assorted novelty erasers for all ages and tastes 72 assorted per tub
Cost £9.45 per tub Retail 25p each
D MINI DINOSAUR ERASERS Ref: S52
There are 11 types of these superbly de tailed 6cm dinosaur erasers for them to collect. 6 dozen assorted per display unit.
Cost £8.95 per display unit Retail22p each
E. CLOWN BALL PUZZLE Ref: P10
another new profit boosting game for 1994 that really is
They'll have great fun 'c lowning around 'putting the fun into fundraising! with these pocket money priced ball puzzles 4 dozen per display unit.
Cost £5.95 per tub Retail20p each
F. TROLL KEYRINGS Ref: K17 6Plastic Golf Balls
Start a keyring 'craze' at your event with FREE Poster and Helpful Hints these cute 4cm bright haired mythical creatures with keyring attachment. 1 dozen asst. per header card.
Cost £3.60 per dozen Retail60p each
G. DINOSAUR MAGIC SLATES Ref: 070
Mini magic screens in si x assorted dinosaur designs to keep children amused for hours Overall size 6" x 7"
Cost £5.85 per 3 dozen Retail25p each
H. TROLL PENDANT Ref : J21
Cute little Troll on detachable neck cord to make a super pendant. 4cm high (appro x height not including hair).
Cost £3.95 per dozen Retail50p each
I. DINOSAUR TATTOOS Ref: P58
Dinosaur loving youngsters will have lots of fun with these realistic removable tattoos 144 assorted per display bo x.
Cast £9.95 per display bo x Retail 12p each
J. TROLL BROOCH Ref : J15
They can wear their ittle Troll with pride
Cute 4cm high (appro x height not including hair) brGoch with safety pin. Individually carded. Assorted colours.
Cost £3.95 per dozen Retail50p each
We suggest you charge 20p for 3 balls A w nner could be someone putting 2 or 3 balls into the cup' , we leave th s for you 10 decide. As the odds are n your favour you may wish to make fuegame prize -a-time. Loll ies/ Sweets (page 17) and Pocket money toys (pages 12- 14) are ideal for the losers while our Plush Favourites (page 13) make great prizes for the winners NEW! SUPER SLAM DUNK Ref: F30 New for 1994! Super Slam Dunk basketball provides an ir resistible tes t of skill for all the family A great money -sp nner at indoor and ou tdoor fundra ising even ts !
Game Equipment
1 17" x 14 " Board with basket (inc fi x ing attachment )
1 Mini Basketball & Adaptor (6" diameter) FREE Poster and Helpful Hints
Price per qo
We suggest you charge 20p for 3 shots A
1
Price
We
Prize Suggestions For
ROLL-A-TWOPENCE
%.
ROLL-A-TWOPENCE Ret: F1
A very popular game of skill and a moneyspinner at all fundraising events Make sure you have a good supply of twopence pieces for people to try their luck
Game Equipment
2 23" x 33" Game Sheets
3 Wooden Chutes Helpful Hints
Cost £4.95 per game
CATCH THE CREEPY
CATCH THE CREEPY - Prize-a-time F14
Not for the fainthearted but children will love this ghoulish game They have to test their skill by using a rod and line to hook a giant creepy crawly from the spiders web Little horrors will love it and being a prizea-t ime everyone will go home happy !
Game Equipment
2 giant Spiders Web Posters (to be taped together), 4 rods, 8 Giant Creepy Crawlies, il'0ster and Helpful Hints
Price per go
We suggest 20-25p a go as there is a prize-a- time and no losers, and also to ensure a reas@nable profit. The loop on the creepy crawlies can be adjusted to make the game as difficult or as easy as you want it to be
Hoopla has always been a popular game for all ages at fetes and fai r grounds because people love to test their skill and try their luck , parti c ularly if the prizes on offer are appealing A successful Hoopla is only as good as its prizes!
Game Suggestions r--- ........................-R Why not make a SOFT TOY HOOPLA using our very popular Plush favourites (page 13) which are loved by all!
Price per go
We suggest you charge 20p per go for four hoops
Prize suggestions In addition to the Plush Animals we suggest you select pnizes that are valued al 60p upwards (at 20p a go). As this is a family game an assortment of prizes is essential and must be appealing
THE
D U
P 0 N
D
mEDUOK POND - Prize-a-time Ref: F6 top fete attraction is loved by ones as there is a prize a time so for the losers! Once purchased , regame can be used year after year at fJUr organisations fundraising events
Game Equipment O\lCU 4ft Paddling Pool , 4 2ft Rods , 12 Numbered Large 5" Plas tic Ducks , FREE Poster and Helpful Hints
He suggest a minimum of 2 0p per go .ilen§ivimg a prize -a-time rrize suagestions ii/a prize -a-time we suggest Lollies , ieddy's Bumper Toy Tub , Novelty Eggs , __ I f,aIg ain Balloon Pack Or ju s t offer a pr iz
I, hooking Du cks with winning numbers , , (JIilollies for the losers PUN CHI L L 0 0 N S Inexpensive delicious lollipops or packet sweets , each individually wrapped Ideal for prize-a-time games like the Duck Pond, Hoopla etc., so everyone goes away happy! (coloured wrappers)
FOOTBALL TARGET GAME
Prize suggestions If yo u are g iving a pr ze-a-time we lo llies/ swe ets (page 17) or pocket toys (p age s
TARGET GAME
I --C It, · ,. L 0 L L Y
lltll IlIllnp\I back (they' ll otten have If they pick a red sti ck they get that choose a p la in stick sti ll the lo ll y so nobody goes aw ay T here are a num ber of on this theme that you might try go you charge 20p per go to cover e loll y and a ny priz es. A space on the FREE advertisi ng poster the 'price per go ng lo ll ies' w e s uggest a p r ze arou nd 1Op e.g. Lucky Di p
perating like Newton's third law, compassion fatigue was an inevitable reaction to the massive growth in charitable fund raising which swept through the country in the 1980s. After all the ballyhoo surrounding Live Aid, successive telethons and appeals to sponsor just about every imaginable human activity, it was only to be expected that the public would eventually tire of being repeatedly asked to open their hearts and their purses.
How the various counties within St. John tackle fund raising in such a difficult climate varies considerably. The nationally organised raffle and house to house collection aside, counties have their own unique approaches to the problem of rais ing funds and there are no fi xed methods which are appl ied universally. Indeed, some counties hardly take part at all in these two national promotions -a recent internal report going so far as to suggest that the potential was ted by failure to thoroughly undertake the house to house collection was in the region of a staggering £1.1 million. Even the raffle (although extremely popular and successful with many counties) did not achieve universal participation.
So how do various counties raise their funds? Mrs. Kath Turner, County P.R.O. for Bedfordshire, explains their approach.
'We don't do much on a direct county basis' she says, 'because the divisions tend to do most of their own fund raising which they do through the usual jumble sales, sponsored events, the local halfmarathons in Bedford, the Tesco collections and the sale of raffle tickets. With the house-to-house collection, and I know it sounds an awful thing to say, nobody likes doing house-to-house these days. I've done a lot of this myself, having come up through the ranks, starting as acadet, so I've seen this from divisional level. I can remember years ago when we used to go out selling f lags and we'd get a good return but now when you go, people don't seem to want to give in that sort of way anymore. They don't want to open their doors - you can't go much before seven, peop e don't like you knocking on their doors after nine o'clock - it's gradually dropped off because people don't like doing it any more as a result of the reactions they get from the public. I think that's general, by the way, we're not the only county which has experienced this.'
It's understandable that , as society changes, methods of appealing to its charitab le instincts must adapt. Bedfordshire, in common with many other counties, keeps its eye open for novel ways of fund raising and, a couple of years ago, hit a small goldmine as a consequence. 'We found that our County Hall has an enormous car park which isn 't used on Sa tu rdays .' Katm says. Th ere's no for the public to use it on those days but the council let charities take collections instead. I try to encourage al l the divisions to take advantage of this and the revenue is fantastic. All you do is stand in the car park with! your tin and people will actua lly queue-up to donate We only learned of this by reading the local counci newspaper where the scheme was mentioned and it's very important t hat peop le their eyes @pen for this sort of opportunity .'
May 1994
oney, Money, •••
In Durham, Deputy Commissioner Winifred Gray says that they find the simple ways tend to be most used: 'A lot of our fund raising doesn't use the high-profile techniques like parachute jumps and that sort of thing, although we do have a few, but the mainstays are raffles, bring and buy sales and that sort of thing plus, of course, the national raffle.
'Cleveland have opened charity shops and in Jarrow, which is NorthumbriEl, not Durham, I know that they do well with collecting waste paper and have found a local firm which is exceptionally good to st. John ; ins tead of giving them the current rate of £5 a ton, they give £10. Of course, the problem with paper is that the rate does fluctuate a lot - as it does with aluminium cans. The Jarrow cadets, for example, won the competition last year for saving aluminium cans and have continued to do well with it, but recently the market was flooded with Russian aluminium and instead of getting 45p per kilo it dropped overnight to 40p.'
The house-to -house approach is difficult in Durham too, as Winifred explained. 'Certain divisions do this, but it's not as popular ClS one might expect. It's more popular in small village areas possibly because it's hard for people to feel comfortable going around massive housing estates and getting an unpredictable respons@ from them. You have to do it during the light er nights, for example because people don't like opening the door to strangers Clt eight o'clock on s dark night - people get suspicious and not very receptive when people are knocking on your door after dark. There probably is a greater potential in the houseto-house approach for st. John if it could become more popular.'
In London , District Secretary Mrs. Gill Martin says, 'Our divisions get quite deeply involved with the national projects like the Safeway and Tesco schemes and we've done collections at places like Wembley in the past and had very good results. In London we tend to hold our house -t o-house and flag day to suit us rather than on the national days, because then we can fit them in with duties which gives the divisions the best chance to get as many people out as possible. We also have an additional bonus because we have the City of London Flag Day as well, which is quite good for us.'
Considering London 's sometimes sinister reputation, it might surprise some to learn that the house-to-house system is still seen as working well there. 'We've found that it's still our divisions' best method of raising money in a 5hort period of time,' Gill says. 'A lot of our divisions go for it in a big way and get quite a good response, mainly because they're well known in their local communities and therefore get a good reClction when they appeal directly to those communities. But there are divisions where they aren't quite so keen on it. We've found that the successful divisions that have got a good superintendent of a large division actually go for fund raising in this manner but the smaller divisions without 50 many members can't hope to get enough out to raise the money.
'Another method that we have found successful in London is raiSing funds for specific projects If fund raising for a new ambulance or mobile unit, when people can see it's something special you can get the public involved more easily. They can relate directly to an ambulance, for example, which know is going to be used in their local community.'
Ti m Fellows, meanwhile, County P R.O for Sussex, explains that they take a very serious approach to the subject. ' I think we must have tried St. John World 15
BAKER ROSS Fundraising Ideas
Summer may seem a lelng way off at the moment , but if you are orga nising a spring or slJmme r h!.1 ndraising eve nt you will know only too well how quickly it can creep up on you ,
However, a new fundrai sing handbook published by Baker Ross could help you avoid last minute hassles , Packed with ideas for spring and summer fetes and bazaars, the handbook is free to fund raisers,
I"roducts such as tombola games and toys are featured in the publication and advice is alsel given on a variety of subjects, ranging from how to organise a successful event to fundraising tips, Case histories and a 'stall activity checklist' are also included to make sure your day goes to plan,
Free copies of the Furfdraisers Han dbook are available to those wishing to raise money for a go od cause on 0818086948 or by writing to them at:
Baker Ross Ltd, Dept. SJW1, Unit 53, Milmead Industrial Estate, Mill Mead Road, London N17 9QU.
just about everything over the years,' he says, 'We had a big appeal in 80s which used a professional fund raiser and that was very, guccessful - it put the county on a successful f inancial footing and gave st. John a good profile in Sussex for nearly ten years, 'Nowadays, we try al sorts of things, Th e business world isn 't as flush Cis it WClS and the South East has been badly hit by the recession, SeJ the things that have been good for the county have been the Te sco end Safeway collections and, of course, the national 51. John raffle, It's so easy to run if you do it proper ly, We pick events where we thing it's going to go well and get the right sort of people in to sell tickets - it's very easy money really ,
'One thing that I instigated in 1986 was buying our first bouncy Su, John castle and that is still going strong and doing a wonderfu job - 50 much so that a couple of years ago we bought a st. John bouncy ambulance too and, again, if you pick your event, you can take £200 in an efter600n w ith no trouble at all, We also have a St. John race at Goodwood every year, which is sponsored by Derek Honeysett, one of cur members of st. John Council, every year, That's really good of him and is worth £6-7,000 a time , We also have an annual greyhound race every yecilr, which is a really good evening out and raises about £3,000 each tillile, Having ciI very good 51. John Council is vita ll y important as they Qet to know the right so rt of people and know how t o approach them.'
The idea of appointing a professional isn't as uniq ue as it may seem, It's a route which Lan cashire are following too, as County Secretary, Mrs. Pearl Boyle , outlined, As a county we've done very little fund rcilis ing recently, so whcilt we've done is take on a local p,R firm and we're hoping thiilt they are going to come up with ideas. We fe lt we needed to lift the image of st. Joh lll locally, get it to as many people as possible amd the mfollow up with the fund raising We actually started workifilg with them in February so it' s early days yet, but we think it's a liens ib le move ,
'To be hone st, the Red Cross had already done this , I believe, and were certainly gett ing the publ icity in the county, with the loc al paper
16 St. John World
Peeks of Bournemouth Ltd
Peeks of B@urnemouth Ltd have Iffie lped thousa l1ld s of imthe UK to raise fUliildls by supplying a wide ra nge of new an @! tra ditional fu md raising games, products and innovative ideas to meet all requirements For committees or individuals, the task of raising money can be daunting. However, ali the problems and nightmares will pale into insignificance when you talk to experts from Peaks Not only do they offer a free door-to-door lIlational delivery service and eliminate financial risk to enSl!lre best possible profits, bwt above ali, they guarantee that your efforts are rewarded by making your event successful.
Peeks of Bournemouth Ltd, Riverside Lane Tuckton, Bournemouth BH6 3LD
Tel: 0202 41. 7777 Fax: 0202 41. 7729
running articles almost week ly on them , This was having an effect on fund raising - as council fund raising had virtual ly stopped, even though it was going on at a divisional level, but we weren 't even getting t he response that we wanted to things like the national raffle , It had become really hard work getting the divisions mo tivated, although there are a handful which are at the front and work real ly, really hard at fund raising , Now our P R is going out to the division sto help them with P,R and give them ideas and ways of improving the ir fund raising and recruiting and so on , We're very optim stic about the prospects for this.'
Perhaps seeing the results from those counties which have eith er benefited from outside, professional, help or become, effective ly, professionals themselves, suggests that this is the way forward - to capitalise on local factors and use the tremendou s ability with in st. John and the goodwill towards it , but to make full use of availab le commercial techniques and skills. After all, if we don 't, we can be su re that others will - and in an age of growing competition in the char ity f ield, we can't afford to lose our appeal.
Keep an Eye on Your Labels!
Women are advised not to drink more than 14 units of alcohol a week , and we are to ld that o n e glass of wine equals one unit. However , if you regularly drink up to your limit , you could be drinking more than you think
The reasoning behind this i s that the unit measure is based on wine with an alcohol strength of 8 % However , many wines are actually stronger than thataround 12-13 % - which make s a glass of wine about one-and-a-half units.
Obvious ly , if you only have the odd tipp le this isn t going to make m uch difference, but ifyol!l regularly drink 14 g lasses of wine a week do check the label on the wine bottle - you may need to cut down.
What Causes Styes?
A stye is a small absces s near the base of an eyelash It is filled with pu s and will eventually burst. Hot-spoon bathing ' can help. T ie lint or a clean rag around the bowl of a wooden spoon and dip in hot water , as hot as you can bear. Hold the dressing on your closed eyelid until it cool s Repeat several times over a ten minute period , two or three time s a day , until the stye burs ts
If you keep getting styes and boil s, you should contact your loca l GP as sometimes bo i ls can be a symptom of late diabetes
Hair Raising
Researchers at the Boston Univer s ity School of Medicine c aim that men with substantia l hair 10 8s on top are three times more 1ikely to have a heart attack than those that are fully thatched ; receding hairlines are not included. App a rently it's linked to hormones. However, dOF) 't start [Danicking and rush to your local GP just yet - other s tudies have failed to find a link between hair loss and heart disease
_s
The Changes in the Law . ..
On October 21, 1993, The National Lottery Bill became an Act. The main content deals with the rules governing the introduction of a National Lottery set up by the government. However, it also details several amendments regarding the rules covering smalier lotteries which previously had to abide solely by the 1976 Lotteries and Amusements Act.
Health of Hounslo1N
Startling figure s s how that pe opl e livin g in Houn s low , W es t London , a re more likel y to die o f coronar y h e art di sease than any of th e ir nei g hbours in th e North Wes t Tham es reg ion
A Health Strategy for th e borou g h c alled " A H e alth Str a teg y f o r Houns low " wa s launched b y Houn s low Council and E alin g, Hamm e rs mith and Houn sl ow Health A g ency whi c h aim to improve the health of p e op le livin g in th e borough.
The Council and H e alth Ag e ncy hop e that by working together w th other ag e ncies a nd local pe opl e th e y can bui Id on exi s ting initiative s and a rge t se rvi ces to tack le and pre v e nt local health problem s.
The l ocal s trateg y ha s bee n drawn up a s part of a national pro g ramm e c a ll e d ' Hea th of the Nation which s ets out health improv e ment tar ge ts e spe c ially in th e a reas of c oro n a r y hea rt
e n o th e 197 6 rul es.
Th e rul e gove rnin g m a ll lo tt e ri es ( in c id e nt a l to a n e nt e rtainm e nt eg: a Dinn e r D a n ce) a nd priv a te lo tt e ri es h a v e n o t c h a n ged but hould yo u w i h to kn ow m o re a b o ut rul es co nce rnin g lo tt e ri es
pl ea e co nt ac t NHQ App ea ls D e p a rtm e nt fo r a c op y o f th e LOll e ry
Fac t S h ee t The National Lottery - What is it?
Initi ate d by th e G ove rnm e nt Th e N a ti o n a l Lotte ry a im s to offe r cas h pri zes ( p o ibl y 50 % of th e m o ney ra i e d ) to peo pl e from all ove r th e Unite d Kin g d o m o n a wee kl y b a is. Th e o th e r 50 % w ill be
donate d to va ri o u goo d ca u e n a ti o n w id e. It w ill be s imil a r in
prin c ip a l to th o s e n a ti o n a lo tt er e a lrea d y in pro g ress in Ire la nd and Au s tr a li a.
At prese nt it is n o kn o wn exac tl y wh a o rt o f ga m e w ill be
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r e w ill be m a s ve cas h pri
li ke ly to run int o milli o n ) involv e d a nd te lev ise d dr a w It will be run b y th e pri va te ec tor on a commer c ia l bas is, but th e pro fit will be di tribute d be tw ee n fiv e 'g o o d ca u se th e Art s,
Sp ort He rit age, C hariti es a nd th e Mill e nnium Fund OFLOT ( th e Lott e ry W a c hdo g) w ill reg ul a te th e pr ac ti ces of th e a ti o n a l Lott e ry
Row Will It Mfect Me?
Whe Nation a l L o t te ry will a ffec t a of u s B e c a u e Britain h as ne ve r had a Nation a Lotte ry be for e, it i diffi c ult to ima g in e what will happ e n but lookin g a o th e r c ountri e e xp e ri e nce se v e ral posibiliti es e m e rge:
I) Counti es/divi s ion s m ay be abl e to a ppl y for fund from th e profit m a de by th e National Lott e ry. How e v e r th e re is no g uarant e e of how m any a pplication s if a ny would be s uc ce s f ul.
2) Some m e mb e rs of th e public may think th a t th e y ar e g ivin g to charity by buyin g a N a tional Lotte ry ti c ket and he nc e not g iv e direct ly to c hariti es Thi s c ou lc! re s u lt in a drop in incom e. "I'vE
Training the Eyes that Care
As well as serving all comers to our clinic in Jerusalem, the Hospital of St. John provides the great majority of ophthalmic, surgical and expert care to the Palestinian population of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Many of these people live some dis t ance from the Hospital, and most cannot afford the costs of frequent travel. Furthermore in recent years , Israeli government edicts have greatly restricted the movements of Palestinians in the occupied territories. On the other hand many eye complaints are trivial and do not require the equipment and expertise that the Hospital has to offer. Every day we nambers of patients who have come too late - patients blinded by glaucoma, diabetes, eye infections , detachments and other diseases, even people with treatable cancers left far too long. Sadly, many of these patients have been attending an e ye doctor or 'ophthalmologist ' but have because they did not know what they were doing. are many ophthalmologists scattered through the area we serve, but only a small number who have had anything like an adequate training. Clearly, teaching young doctors to be ophthalmologists is an important way of helping to reduce blindness and visual disability in the area we serve.
For this rea son three trainee s were sel e cted a nd bega n their two year training period here at tme Ho spital in F e bruary 1994
A number of oph bhal m ologists have been trained nere before , includin g a number of the pre sent s taff, but previou s y this training has been in a loo se apprentic eship' manner. Some do very well in thi s learning situation , but oth e r s don't , and learning can be s low and patch y For thi s rea son we have e s tabli s hed a far mo re s tructured training pro g ramme il'l wlilich trainees , know li1 as sen[or llwu se o1ifiee rs' wi ll rotate in an orderly f ashion from attachment with one senior o.phthalmolo g is t to another , a s well a s being the fir. s t to se e and a s se ss patient s wi h acute eye problem s.
20 St. John World
Dr James Stewart was recru ited by the Priory of New Zealand and took up a one year post at the St. John Ophthalmic Hospital in 1993. Here, Dr Stewart offers a closer look at the major benefits to both the Hospital and the local community of training ophthalmologists inhouse.
PiCTured helow lefllO righTDr Humam Rislimal1'i. Dr Esa BassalaT alld Dr Sami Masri.
trai nin g sc h e m e wa co n ce i ved by th e W a rd en D r
Michae l Ward. B ecause of t h e H osp it al's ti g ht b ud ge t it was necessa ry for hi m to fi n d s po n sors h ip b efore th e sc he m e co uld
beg in H e h as b ee n s u ccessful in thi s e nd eavo ur a n d Th e Ord er
dee pl y grateful to th e H os pit a ll e r for W aJes, M r s A nn e Mc D o ugall who th ro u g h th e Pri or y of Wa les h as f und e d Dr Hum a m Ri s hm aw i, to th e Ame r ican S oc ie t y w ho have s po nso re d t he J o hn A ndr ew
Fe ll ow, Dr Sa mi Mas r i a nd h e A ra b U nio n of H ea t h W o r ke r s w ho Spo nsor Dr Esa B assa lat.
Furth e r d o n atio n s are r e quir ed for essenti a l eac hin g eq ui pm e nt an d m edica b ooks. If yo u fee l yo u ca n he lp w ith th ese ite m s p lea e Co nt act h e H os pit a ll e r a G rosve nor Cresce nt.
The y will hav
mvisional News
The Dudle y Centre Competitions were held in November at Hillcre st School and bouqu ets were presented to the Mayor of Dudley Mi ss Mary Whitehouse and to County
Out with the Old
Dear Editor,
r have recently come across a bras s St. John Ambulance Badge in some old artefacts I don ' t know how this badge came into my possession and wo uld be gratefu l if yo u could throw some light on the shlbject.
On th € back of the badge is the name Clive T Ougmton and the number A267934. If the pers on con cerned or any other interes ted parties would care to contac t me I sh o uld be only too happy to return it to the person concerned
Yours faithfull y A lb ert H Day Weston-S upe r-Mare Avo n
Does Rank Rankle?
Dear Editor ,
D eadman's shoes stifled ideas, ivory towerism , stale leadership frustation Don't they all re sult from a rigid rank structure inflated at the top , lacking in logic and sparse in direction ? Ye s it doe s !
I o nce tho ught th at the an s wer wa s to follow the Red Cross and do awa y with rank and its associated problems They rely on a workab le system of hierarc hial appointme mts as commerce and indu stry do However St. John i s a uniformed organisation and rank is part of our ethos , shaped by ou r h[story. ]t does have a place but how can it be used to meet our needs? We are diffe lient from the Anned Forces and d ifferent aga ln from the Emergency Services
I belie ve the answer [S In a nutshell; rank goe s with the appointment, appoin tments are made on a triennial ib asis , triennia l app0intments may on [y be renewed once Then add a pyramid shaped rank structure (th a t is sitting on its base and not o n its point as at present!)
Let National Headq uarte r s show off nerves of steel and make the above a
24 St. John World
re g ula tion and not a reco m m e nd a ti o n an d the nut is cracke d! It would m ean th a t officers would hav e to move upw ar d s, s idew a ys or downwards every three or s ix ye ar s.
R esu l t: YO I!I [) wt s ho es on livel y l egs, give new idea s a chan ce to blo ss om ivory towers c oll ap se , fre sh le aders com e forward, the Energy Pro g ra mm e is given a shot in the ann and contentm e nt re ig ns ! Or doe s it ? Has anybody g ot a be tte r idea ? D ea r Editor Yo urs f aithfu ll y, John Byrne Cleve land
The following poem w as sent to us by s(J me of the candidate s who wer e on on e of our four day First Aid at Work c ourse s earlier thi s month , here at Chelm sford
The two trainers were Geoff Arn ey and Chri s tin e Summer who work to ge ther as an excell e nt team and althou g h we rec e ive many thank you le tters, thi s is th e fir s t versified thanks we have rece iv ed Yo urs fa ithf ully , John Cay County Manage r Es sex
Learning the ABC
Althou gh we f ee l nervo us,
I' m sure we mu st all ag ree ,
Th at if we fo ll ow you r advi ce ,
It' s as eas y as AB C .
Teaching the Teachers
De a r 'Editor
I wa s intere sted to re ad the article ' St. John Teach es lihe Teachers' whi c h appeared i m the October iss lUe of St. John World.
I th o ught YO l!l mi g ht be intereste d in knowin g that wh e n I w as A ss oc iat ion
Sec ret a ry and Bri gade Org anise r in Cypru s the [9 50 s, I was s pon s ored by th e Educ a ti
St.John Crossword
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S
4
Jerusalem
PriVR,te ophthR,lmologist&
EndR,nger
Twelve year old Douaa, first came to the St. John Ophthalmic Hospital in December, 1993 . She had been referred by the private ophthalmologist who had been treating her for vernal catarrh for the previous two years.
Vernal catarrh is an Glilergic eye condition which is very eommon in Jerusalem. It can be vNy serious, even blinding, but equally for most patients causes only minor irritEltion True vernal catarrh needs strong eyedrops known as steroids. ·In the West these are only prescribed by eye specialists because they can have serious side effects for which ophthalmologists are trGlined tEl routin@ly test. Olile of the most serious of these is glaucoma, but easy checks will alert he doctor that this problem is occurring, and it can be dealt with by stopping the steroids or adding further medication.
Unfortunately, Douaa 's eye doctor had not performed regualr checks in case of complications Elnd so Doua a's 91aucoma had gone undetected for a long time By the time she was referred
to the St. John Ophthalmic Hospital, the disease w as so far adva n ced that she had lost most of the opt ic nerve which carr es vision from the eyes to the brain. Because glaucoma occurs so gradually, patients often do not notice they are los ng vision, until the condition is beyond repa ir An exam i nat on re vealed that she was at risk of osing h e la st little bits of h er optic nerves, and that would mean complete rrecoverable b li ndne ss
Glaucoma surgery was performed on both her eyes at he Hospital. Doctors were concerned that the stres s of su rgery might damage her last remaining vision, but fortunat ely n o loss of vision was detected Her intraocular pressures have return ed to normal , and soon her treatment will be complete She wi l need careful observation over t h e coming years , but sh ou d even t ually have stable vision
Although there are quite a numbe r of private opht hal· mologists in the occupied territories, only a few o f them have had reasonable training, and manage se rious eye proble ms properly. Many patients have suffered loss of sight due to t he incompetence of the eye do ctors they have been visiting Sad ly, many of these people only reach st. John when their eye problems are advanced Private doctors need to be encour aged to refer serious eye problems early on instead of when t he damage is irreversible Doctors at the Hospital are considerin g holding regular meetings to try and improve the standards of primary eye care
Of course many patients come first to the st. John Ophthamic Hospital but travel restrictions can make it very difficult fo r Pa estin ans to visit the Hosp tal regularly. More importan t ly it is hoped that by training local doctors in ophthalmology, he numbers of competent ophthalmologists in the Palestinia n communities wil l steadi ly increase « June 1994
INew Look'
st. John World
STOP PRESS: St. John World magazine is to be relaunched as a tabloid newspaper. Every divisional member will receive a copy, free of charge. Read on.
In 1993 , we bega n a co mprehensiv e, ind epend ent in ve sti ga ti o n int o th e qualit y and effec tiv enes s o f the our SI. Jo hn Ambu la nce publi ca ti o ns SI. Jo hn W orld , Vi ewp o int , St art! and B adge r Bu zz Th e aim wa f in d o ut w hat th e m em be r s percepti ons o r th e pub li ca ti on s were, enco urag e feed back (bo th pos itiv e and nega ti ve!) and toge th er es t abli sh a way fo rw ard
In ord er o ca rTY out thi s in vest i ga tion we co nt ac ted th e m emb ershi p over a si x month peri od to so urce th eir opini on s
Usin g a prog ram me of three ph ase s we ga th ered th e in fo nn ati o n neces sary to prepare reco mm end ati on s fo r th e Future of th e p ubli ca ti o ns F i r t we co ndu c ed te eph one int erv ews w ith 200 St. Jo hn World rea der and 200 Vi ew po int rea der N ex t we se t up Foc u gro up s with B adge rs an d Ca d et and third y we too k a c lose l oo k a th e c urrent co nt ent and fo rm at o f all fo ur publi ca ti on
Some of th e o pini on s ex presse d by th e member ship in th e co urse of th e resea rch we re; " SI. Jo hn nee ds to sharp en up it s im age and co mmuni ca te bett er with th e memb er ship " , " N o t see n by th e majo ri ty of memb er s" " Th e St. Jo hn acce n i s not strong enough ", " SI. John ha no se n se of id entit y" ,
A s a res ul t of our resea rch w e have Ov er the pas t yea r taken a v ery c l o e l oo k at all our publi cati ons and have dec id ed to re aun ch th e new oo k publi ca ti o ns at th e Annu a C onfer ence in H arro gat e, in September.
St. John World - Th e main con ce rn voi ced about thi s publi c ation wa s that it did not app ea r to be r eac hin g all th e memb ership. A s SI. John World
Jun e 7994
ca n pr ove a very u se rul to ol in brid g in g th e co mmuni ca ti on s ga p, it s imp er ati ve th at ever y m emb er rece i ves a co py eac h month A t prese nt th e c ircul ati on i s a barri er as m any members d o
sub sc rib e to it and indi v idu al co pi es m ayo r m ay not be passed around B y r el aun chin g it as afi' ee news paper we ho pe o co mb at th at pro bl em
Th eref ore, SI. John W o rld will beco me a 16 page tabl o id new spaper, w ith a f requ ency of ten tim es per yea r. And m os t impor1 antl y f or our En g li sh memb ers it w ill be 'free o f charge.
( Ove rsea s ub sc rib ers w ill be as k ed fo r £ 5 a yea r to cov er po stage )
Viewpoint - T o be r el aun ched a a tabl o id news paper with a fr equ ency of f our tim es per yea r. Vi ew po int will be in se rt ed int o St. John W o rld eac h qu ar1 er r e ultin g in bo th St. John W o rld rea ders and Vi ew point rea der s rece v in g both publi ca ti o ns o n t h ose fo ur occa s on s.
Thi s w ill mean th at both the Sr. John W o rld and Vi ew po int co ntent w ill be access ibl e to all memb er Th e f ir st t abl o id w ill be publi shed in Oc tob er.
Start! - St art' m agaz in e a we kn ow and l ove it w ill r emain mu ch th e sa me.
Fro m Septemb er it w ill fea ture a much bo ld er l ayo ut and a name change. W e ar e c urrentl y runnin g a comp etition to find an appro pri ate name o r th e pub li ca ti onany sugges ti on s wo uld be we lcom ed
Badger Buzz - On ce aga in Badge r Bu zz will remain mu ch th e sa me a it wa but w ill al so fea ture a bri ghter bold er ay out. H ow ev er , B adge r Bu zz w ill be targe tt ed spec ifi ca ll y a yo un ge r B adge rs ie tho e aged betw ee n si x and e g ht.
Old er Ca de s wi ll be g iv en a choi ce bet wee n St art! and St. John W o r l d H ow ev er , you ca n on y rece iv e on e or the o th er , yo u co nn o / have bo th. So rry! W e have cont ac ted each count y fo r an up - to-d a e li st of t hei r divi s ona number s r equirin g copi es of th e m ag az in es It s our intenti on to se nd th e required numb er of co pi e to o ne nomin ated perso n eg Divi sion a Sup erintend ent and th at perso n w ill th en be res pon sibl e for di stribu in g th e m ag az in e to di v s ona m emb er Ob v ous y i f thi s o w ork effec ti ve y. it s imperativ e that co untie s infoml us of any changes within th eir di v i sio n All fo ur publi ca tion ca rr y important m essages to diffe rent memb er hip g roup s. Y our input he lp s to det ennin e th eir succ ess. Th erefor e w e ar e urgin g yo u o continu e to submit arti c l es , new s tori es and photo g r aph s fo r inclu ion in th e publi ca tion s.
W e we co me any comm ent s about th e publi cation s and if y ou ee l ver y stron g l y about som ethin g th en th e Letter s Page alw ay a good forum f or po iti ve co mm ent o r ind eed co mpl aint s -so let us know! St John World 5
St. John World
Seeing and Breathing Life
Basingstoke Board the Community Care Wagon
Whilst the uni forms, First A id te nt s and vehic les of St. Jo hn Amb ul ance are a fam ili ar s ight at public events , many of the orga ni sation 's other day-to-d ay activ iti es go unn ot iced.
One s uc h activity take s place every Thursday morning for he c hildren of the Nu rsery and C lass Two at Saxon Wood School, Basingstoke. The school cater s for c hildren w ith phy s ical di s ab iliti es f rom the age of two to 11 but un til recently the c hildr en did not ofte n get the opportunity to participate in extra-curricLl ar act vi ti es.
But a ll that h as c hanged Now , once a week, Les Pa€lfield Membe Ii in C harge of the Popley Quadrilateral Divi s ion, loads the latest St. Jo hn minibu s wit h nine Ghildre n (fo ur in w heelchairs) a nd five teache r s, to take the m on the three mile journey to nhe heated pool at L imin gto n H o use
St. John f ir s t vo lunteered for the se rv ice after bein g on duty at the schoo l 's fete in 1992. " Ju st watching th e e normo us fun and f reedom the kiddie s have in th e water makes it really wo rth wh il e ," sa id Les , who s a nurse at Park Prewett Hospital.
6 St. John W0rld
Health and Safety in Residential Care Homes
The Health a nd Safe ty E xecutiv e ( HSE ) have recent y produced a book offe rin g compre hen s ive he a lth and s afe ty g uid a nce for tho se wh o own m a na ge or work in re s idential c a re hom es
The book a im s to ra i e emp loy e rs awarene ss of th e nee d to mana ge a nd co ntr o l hea lth and s afety effectiv e ly. Th e book le t wh il s t not introdu c in g a ny ne w law s, offers g uid ance on meetin g tho se in ex is te nce
The most · common accid e nts In re sident-ia home s are s ip s, trip s a nd fa ll s - mo s t o f the se are ca u sed by manua l handl in g Don B a rnett , Head of the HSE 's Local Authority Un it s a id , " In the last few yea rs about 20 re s ident s a yea r have died in work- re lat e d accid e nts in re s identi a l C<lire homes " Examp les of acc id ent s are:
• A 65 year old m an li v in g in a privahe nurs in g h ome di e d aft e r be ing
lowe re d int o a ho t b ath by two nur es who ha d not c hec ke d th e te mp e ratur e of th e wa te r.
• A 6 3 year o d res id e nt fe ll a nd di ed wh e n he op e ne d a do o r lead in g immed iat e ly to a s tee p c ell a r sta irway.
• An 80 ye ar o ld c hroni c c h izo ph re nic w o m a n w h o liv e d in a p syc hoge riatri c unit , ra n a bath fo r
In M a rc h Eli za be th v is ited th e c hoo l and he ld a pec ia l tw o ho ur Bre ath of Life c our se fo r th e tud e nts. E xp a inin g th at th e hea rin g c ommand c ould be s ub s titut e d fo r l iste nin g a nd ookin g ca re full y, Eli za be th d e mon s tr ate d ho w a hard -of-hea rin g pe rso n can bec om e a n effic ie nt a nd e ffec t ive fir t a id e r.
Peo pl e with he arin g di a bi liti
St. John Week
Although
Later in the year , we will as lI S Ual
Passive Smoking Award
Ben Nevis Triumph for Wheelchair Users
Delivery by the book
When Sue Buxton invited her pregnant friend around for lunch , she got more than she bargained for - and ended up delivering the baby with just a First Aid book for guidance.
Mandy Barra s went into labour so fast the ambu lance could not arrive in time , so Sue had little choice but to deliv e r the baby her self.
With only a St. John Ambulance Firs t Aid manual to rely on, Sue deliv e red a healthy 61b 100z bab y g irl with Mandy's liule so n s looking on agog.
Mandy , 32, explained what happened " I had h a d a few pail1S but n ot hin g too s erious. But while Sue wa s in the kitchen making lun c h , Je ss ica decided to come and I ju s t had to push."
Sue from Victoria P a rk Road, Moordown added, " 1 found her bent double on a chair in my l ounge after s he had telephoned for an ambulance. Sh e sa id " I am going to have it now .'"
8 St. John World
"Fo rtun ate ly h ad done a St. J o hn Ambulance Fir Aid course, so I g rabb ed m y b ook f ro m th e kitchen a nd followed the instructions in the e :n e rge ncy c hildbi rt h c hapte r ," sa id Sue
Sh e th e n proceeded to make Mandy li e down o n th e f loo r and placed a towe l und e r h e r. " It wasn't easy," aid S ue, " b eca use I was tr yi n g to fo ll ow the book , keep Mandy ca lm a nd not s how her I was panicking. "
Meanwhile , Mandy 's littl e so n Jame was c ry in g in hi hi g h c h a ir a nd dropped hi s ja m sandw c h es on the floor - w hi c h Thomas then brought int o the lo un ge.
" He was trying to feed them to me w hil e I lay o n the floor sc reaming ," aid Mandy.
Jam es, 22 m o nth s, wa so up se t by th e noi se that Sue got him o ut of the hi g h c hair a nd he stood in the doorway w ith Thom as a nd watched the birnh of hi s s ister.
The ambu a nce arriv ed ju s t in time to finish off the d e li very a nd Mandy a nd Jessica were rushed off to h osp it a l , lea vin g Su e in s il e n ce afte r he r ordeal.
The rece nt damag es awa rd aga in st a private hospita l fo r s tr ess ca u ed to a v it o r b y passive s m oki n g h as caused much co ntr oversy.
An ti - moking g roup h ave dec lared it a s ig nifi cant breakt hr o u g h in th e s mokin g war, wh il e pro-smoking gro up s have l abe ll ed it ludi cro us.
Terry Hurl s o ne of Rom fo rd , Ea London , fo un d hi s daught er, w h o had jusl h ad an ope ratio n , in a f ug of tobacco smoke produced by anot h e r patient and h er visitors.
D espi te "No Smoking" s ig n o n the wa ll s, h osp ita l s taff had take n no ac ti on. Mr Hurl tone event ua ll y manag ed 10 ge l hi s daughter m oved.
H e th e n ref used o pay part of th e ho spita l bill a nd w h e n the hospital pro ceeded to take ac ti on to recover th e debt he e ntere d a co unte r-c la im for st ress.
In March, a Judge at R o mford Co unt y Court o rd ered him to pay the bill but al so awa rd e d him £50 fo r stress
"T hi s is exac tl y w ha wa nted ," s aid Mr Hurl s ton e. " I hop e m y
y reac hed th e ummit af te r spe ndin g 85 h o ur s on th e mount a in A fourth c limb e r, D avi d P odd, 43 reached 3,200ft before
KEEP ON RUNNING
Brian Anderson, Area Staff Officer for Essex St. John Ambulance (Western Area), completed a 45 mile Sponsored walk across Essex on Easter Sunday to raise money for the Brigade.
St. John Essex is sp li t into three operational a r eas. W este rn Area cove rs th e Divi s ion s in ; Burnham-on -C r o u c h Maldon , Wo o dh a m Ferrers, Che lm sfo rd Bre ntwood Wi c kford Epping, H a rlow , Th ax te d a nd Sa ff ron Ju ne 7994
retirin g on m e dical a dvi ce. The thre e di sa bled people were acco mp a n ied by a fifteen s tr ong a bl ebodi e d s upp o rt tea m and m e mb e rs of the Lo c h a be r Mountain R esc ue T ea m
Dr J a n e Dub ar who provi d e d th e m e dical s upport for th e duration of the c limb sa id " Th e errai n is ex tr e m e ly rough o n B e n Nevis. The las t thr ee ho ur s of c limbin g across th e to p pl atea u was the grea es t human effort I have ever see n a s upr e m e ac hie vem e nt. "
W a lden. Bri a n co mpl eted th e wa lk from Burnh a m to Harlow in a s in g e d ay, d e pite a t rocio u s weather co nd ition s in c ludin g wind, hail an d s no w.
Brian who co m es from Southmin s te r , ha co mp le ted eve ra l L o ndon Marathons to raise fund s fo r S t. John but was un a bl e to sec ure a pl ace in thi s yea r 's m a rat hon. Therefore , he d eci d e d o und e rt a k e th e c ro ss -area walk to prov id e th e Divi s ion s with a focus point for th e ir fundr a is in g.
Each Divi s ion so ug ht s pon so rs hip a nd a n y mon ey r a ised w as divid e d e qu a ll y be twee n th e ir own funds a nd the area.
Spon so rs hip mon ey is s till c omin g in , so a nyon e who ha s not p a id up - pl ease do so!
AMBULANCESI WELFARE BUSES
clear that had the boy s not acted so promptly and effective ly, she would have swffe red severe hypothermia and might we ll have died.
Tn recognition of their actions, the brothers were awarded Commanders' Commendations, which were pre se nted by the Area Commissioner Peter Brown The y were further recognised when they were awarded the Robert s Trophy, which is pre se nted annual ly to Cadets from Staffordshire, who show initiative in difficu l s ituation s.
Brothers Save Old Lady's Life
Freighter in Trouble on High Seas
It
I I hard and frosty. Whilst walking , Mrs Melia tripped and fell, breakin g he r ankle in three place s. Trying to drag her elf towards nearby hou ses wa s a very slow and painful proce s and by thi s time she was soake n we t from the ground and ge ttin g colder and more afraid. Eventually s he started calling for help but it fell on deaf ears.
A half hour late r, two brother Neil and Adam Bradbury were returning home from their sc hool , when they hea rd what they thought was a cry for help
Following the noise, they soo n came across Mrs Melia. It was clear from the outset that they would need additional he lp. so Neil left Adam to reassure Mrs Melia whi le he ran home to ge t he lp.
When Neil reached hom e he rang for an ambulance and se nt , hi s brother Marc aged I I , back across the hills with so me blanket s to keep Mrs Melia warm.
When the ambulance arrived it wa s c rewed by Deputy Area Commissioner Peter Be nnion who is a Paramedi c with the Staffordshire Ambu lance Service. Helping Peter to carry equipment across the rugged ground, Neil then helped ca rry the carrying chair back to the ambulance. In the n:1eantime both Marc and Adam continued to and comfort Mrs Mel ia.
Thank s to the boys quick and ca lm thinking Mrs Melia was taken to hospital where she made a comp lete recovery. It is
June 1994
Emergency
approximately 60 seame n were being airlifted from the s hip and would be landing at Mumble. An eme rgency re sponse team wa s required
The Divi sio n's emergency call-out system was activated so that members were contacted and briefed to assemble at a pre-arranged point for all emergencies. By 05.00hrs , s ix members had arrived at the assembly point.
An hour later , they had reported to the Patti Pavilion where a r-est and reception centre had been established and contact had been made with the first party of sea men
Although so mew hat s ubdued , the sea men were warm and dry, and virtually injury free, with only two needing treatment. As the partie s continued to arrive, they were all in a si milar condition.
In late Jan u ary, a n 8400 ton In d ian registered freig h ter, Visha Parag was o n passage from Antwer p to Swansea. T h e seas were hig h an d heavy and a force e ig h t gale threatened the re lative safety of t h e shi p Sho r tly after 02.46hrs her cargo shifted and rupt u red a ballast tank, releasing 600 tons of water thro u gh the ship, de-stabilising the sh i p and ca u s i ng an immediate list to starboard.
In all, nine organisations were involved in the emergency re sc ue ; the County Emergency Plannin g team the Police , the Fire Service, Regi stration , Interpreter s. Missions to Seamen , Raynet the WRVS and St. John Ambulance. All had functioned efficiently and ca mly without making undue demand s on each others ' re so urces. This was the re sult of the Emergency Planning Programme undertaken two years earlier and had res ulted in familiarity between individuals and an understa nding of each others roles, ensuring that everyone functioned as a team A full debriefing took place five days after the emergency.
Of the emergency , Divisional Officer Ann Parkyn says, "A lthough we have in the past gained sub stantial knowledge from practical and table-top 'exerc ises ' it is only when a true emergency occurs, with all the trauma , that problems can show up. In the light of the experience we have now made plans to improve our res ponse time. organisation and actions. "
St. John World 1 1
Red Face Day
s in an abnormal way to it. What ca uses thi s "a bnormality " is unknown , but it is se lflirmitililg afld w i ll eventually itse lf. This may however, take yea r s or even decades and there i s no way of predicting how long thi s may take
Is Acne Hereditary?
Ac n e s not an inh e rit ed di ease in th e medical se n se of the wo rd. How ever, ac n e is more co mm o n in chi ldre n of parents who have h ad or till have ac n e.
Looking at it the ot he r way, f yo u ook at pare nt s of c hild re n w ith ac n e, mor e of them have had acne th an parents of ch ildren w h o do not h ave acne. If yo u look a t twin s, yo u wi ll us u a ll y see ac ne in both t w in s if they are id e nt ica l w hil e the incidence of ac ne affect ng both nonid e nti ca l twin s is much less.
ASPIRIN
The Briti s h M edica l J o urn al ( 19 March) e ndor ses the view that the pre-hospital a dmini strat ion of a n asp irin to patients s ufferin g m yocar di a l in fa r ct io n does hav e a beneficial effect. It went o n to say, "It is of so m e concern that despite the prov e n be nefit of as pirin only one fifth of p a ti e nt s pr ese ntin g with ac ute chest pain received aspi rin before adnmission 'lll!lrtherm ore, Uh e observation that patients are admitted much more rapidly if they ca ll the ambulanc e them selv es s u ggests th at the time m ay
Do YouKn Man
be ri g ht for asp irin to be ca rri ed and g iv e n by a mbulan ce c rews".
St. J o hn Amb ul a nce s upport s th e use of aspir in if ava ilabl e. w he n th e pati e nt i co ns c o u s a nd th e re is a reaso nab le deg ree of ce rt a inty t h a t th e casua lt y is uffe rin g a hea rt a tta ck.
ERe
T he Europea n Re s u sc itatio n Council have recently an n ounced c h a nges in sequ e nce to In fant Re s usc iLaLion and Choking g uideline s
Th e main c h a n ge dea ls wit h c hoki n g in c hildren T he n ew g uid e lin es advocate the fo ll owing pro ced ures;
Children under one year old - Th e sequence is back s laps, c hest thrust s, back s laps, c h est t hru ts
Children over one year old the seq ue nce introd uces abdo min a l th ru sts. Therefore th e seq ue nce recomme nd s a lte rn ating back s laps, w ith c hest a nd a bd om in al t hru sts.
toxin) that spreads through the nervous y What could this cause?
7. Name three causes of radiation burns.
6 What are your aims when treating a marine puncture Wound '/
Which three conditions are treated like this?
8. How would you recognise hypothermia in an infant?
Sports Injuries
On the increase or decline?
Well it's almost upon us again. Four years have passed since Cameroon took the World Cup by storn1 and etched a place in football history for By now World Cup mania has reached fever pitch. Everywhere you look you are bombarded with World Cup 1994 paraphanalia Worldwide 24 teams have qualified for the Grand Prix of soccer and everyone from children to old age pensioners are learning to dribble, tack e and shoot.
Even those of us who are totally indifferent to football succumb to it for two months. But for thousands of St. John members football matches are a firm part <ff their week ly routine. Covering aft estimated 80% of all football duties throughout the United Kingdom, members are kept very busy.
OMe such member is Patrick Noyland, Area Commissioner for Sheffield. " We cover both Sheffield Clubs on alternate Saturdays during the Premiere League. As a result of the Taylor Report we are required by law, to provide one first aider per 1000 spectators and so at any _ one match, we probably wou ld have a minimum of 20 members on duty. Depending on crowd
capacity, we have had up to 40 or SO members providing First Aid cover at the Clubs.
"The number of injuries have dropped tremendously since the introduction of the all-seater stadiums and we don ' t really get that many injuries nowadays. Obviously, we still get the odd fainting or someone jumJDil'lg up and banging their knee on the sear, fuut normally it isn't anything more serious than that.
"We also provide a stretcher/porter service for the Hillsborough Grounds , and sil1ce the beginning of the season we have on y carried off four players."
But soccer isn't tme only form of footba ll whicm provides olJlr members with a cmal1enge. Victor Bodger is Divisional Supe rI ntendent of Chester Division and his members cover the who le gammit of sporti ng duties " We have fo und America n
Football duties to be one of the most difficult, " he says. We have to be very careful with all casualties in case of neck injuries. Although they rarely tum out to be neck injuries we must always be extremely careful not to move them just in case ," says Victor.
Victor ha s also had experience with injury resulting from water sports. "We once had a river rowing duty were two boats wenr down and we ended up treating 12 casualties with hypothermia. Thankfully we did have a doctor on site to deal with them, but some had to be transported to ho s pital."
"But my favourite sporting duty is actually mountain bike racing ," says Victor. " Great fun to watch and not too many casualties. Most people only suffer cuts and brui s ing and the occa ional di s location ," he adds.
Mr s Dark , Superintendent of Exeter Division doe sn t share Victor' s love of mountain bike racing , her forte is marathon s and running events Mrs Dark organises the First Aid cover for Exeter , Devon and having participated in the Great We st Run herself, she is only too aware of the type of injurie that can result from poor p lanning before or during the race. "We get a lot of runners suffering from exhaustion or dehydration Obvious ly quite a few are also suffering from sore feet , blisters , twi s ted ankles and grazes, that so rt of thing ." A lot of runner s don't rea l ise that they are dehydrating until it is too late and ignore the advice to take drinks from variou s station s a long the route.
" We also cover the Speedway Motor Racing d utie s every Monday from midMarch until mid -October," says Mrs Dark "Surpris ing ly we don t get a lot of casualties considering the we have quite a few crashes Most people miraculously seem escape with just minor cuts and bruises. "
"Cart racing at Dunkerswe ll is a ls(\) very popular , w'nh a very varied age group taking pan, between 8-50 year o lds. A few years ago we did have to treat someone with a cracked vertebrae, but considering the speed that some of these carts reach up
June 1994
to 20J lililrph down the straight, the number of casl!Ia[lties is very small," says Mrs Dark
Tine last time we conducted a survey into sports injurie s, equestrian events were high on the lis t and Bob White, Area Commissioner for North York s hire is maintaing that trend. Although the main sporting events covered by the divi s ion is equestrian , they also deal with both football and hockey events as we l l.
The division covers Cattrick Races , 26 times per year, with an average of 20 members on duty per event. In addition they can cover up to an extra SO races per year. " As you probably reali se, thi s is a very rural area and a lot of our duties are out on a limb , miles from nowhere The eq1!lestrian events probably produce the highest number of casualties, with injuries ranging from fractured collar bones, winding from being catapulted off a horse or fractures s us ta ined by being s tood or rolled on by a horse. A hor se-s hoe s hap e d bruise on th e leg is normally a good indication that the casualty has bee n kicked by the animal!
"In addition, most people s uffer concuss ion, to varying degree s, when thrown off a horse. On a normal race evening with up to s ix race s, we would expect five to eig ht casualties. Perhap s only one to three if it is flat racing. "
Top to Bottom Spinal Management
One of the wo rs t njur ies fac ing sport s men and women is sp inal injury
In the event of such a t rauma , co rr ect casua lty handling is v ita l if f ul l recov er y is to be made w ithou t long te rm loss of bodily fun ctions
The Orthopaedic s Scoop Stretcher is a wel l tr ied and tested safe t y device and allows skilled hands to lift a pat ent safely
As suppli e rs to the rescue services of var ous t ypes of equipment for spin al ma nage me nt , w e re com me nd t hat t he scoop st retcher is the de al means of tra nsferri ng the casualty to the Evacumat vacuum mattres s for t ransportat on eithe r by Air A mbu lance or ove rland
For further detai s contact : Paraid Ltd, Paraid House, Weston Lane, Birmingham B11 3RS Tel: 021 7066744
This is a relatively small number of casualties for such a dangerous s port. " 1 think that the compulsory bod y armour' introduced by the Jockey Club is responsible for the reduction in injurie s_" Obviously St. John Ambulance welcomes the introduction of protective clothing for jockeys and hopes that the number of serious injurie s sustained by jockey s will be drasticall y reduced as a result.
It is evident from the conversations I have had with members that the number of injuries sustained at s porting events are decreasing. Over the la st few years there have been a number of disasters at sporting grounds and these have prompted indepth research and new legislation into the provision of First Aid cover. St. John Ambulance welcomes these new moves , which help to ensure that the safety of the players and the crowd is not jeopardised.
SPINAL MANAGEMENT IITOP TO BOTTOM II
Paraid offers expert ise in the manufacture and supply of a w ide range of PRE-HOSPITAL CARE EQUIPMENT, all produced to the highest standa rds of finish and designed to provide excellence in patient t ransportat on and care from incident to hospitalisation.
Paraid is committed to total SPINAL MANAGEMENT by a comprehensive range of products which min i m ise the risk of secondary displacement of the spine. These include a choice of spine boards made in va riety of mater als , and several types of vacuum immob ilisation mattresses which envelope the patient firmly to reduce further injury and secondary traumatic shock.
Paraid has wide experience in the use of this equipment and can offer advice on the most appropriate unit to suit any traumatic s ituat ion from long distance transportation of the injured to the immobilisation of long bone fractures.
PARAID LTD
house , Weston lane , Birm ingham 811 3RS Telephone: 021-706 674 4 Fax: 021 -70667 46
Marathon NlAN fA
Since 1980 , over three hundr ed thou sa nd people have taken part in the London Marathon And for week s before and after the event, ma mt hon mania grips the (wuntry. T his year, the 14th Lomdon Marathon was no exception.
In recent years , a lot of controversy has surrounded the marathon and it s charitable stance. Many believ e that Europe 's mo st popular marathon has been ilTevocab ly scarred by the competitive 'c ha rity ' element that ha s swe pt hrough it. Either way , it fulfills two important functions ; it rai ses much needed funds for c baritable organisanions and it unites not only tens of thousand s of runners, but thousands of First Aiders helpers and members of the pu blic who all do their bit for one of the world 's mo s famou s marathon s.
Although thi s year's marathon wa s tin ged with sad nes s following the deat h of a 52 year old runner , it was reported as one of the mo st successful to date. Despite unsavoury weather conditions, 26,316 people (a n im:rea se on las t year) aged between 18 and 87 years old , took part.
A team of 320 runner s took part on behalf of St. John Ambulance, rai s in g an estimated £150 ,000 through sponsorship.
F@r Mexican Dioncio Ceron it was a da y to rememfuer - completing the marathon in a n incredible 2 hour s 8 minute s, without injur y, (the third fastest time the marathon ha s been completed in , s ince it s introduction in 19 8 1). However thou sa nd s of others weren t so lucky.
Equipped with 881bs of petroleum jelly 1300 plasters , 5000 cotton wool balls 1000 vomit bag s, 300 crepe bandages and 500 stretchers, 1300 St. John Ambulance members lined the route , ready to deal with any
Over 26 thousand people took to the roads on Sunday 17 April for the annual Nutrasweet London Marathon. Blisters, cuts, grazes, strains and sprains all took their toll and many runners were glad that 1300 St. John Ambulance members were on hand to bandage the wounds and wipe-away the tears.
St. John World Reports.
[n pTeparation for these e mergencies
St. Jo hn Ambulance prov id ed five uni rs (am bul a nces eq uipp ed with defibrilla _ tors c rews, doctors and nurses) a nd up to 19 tea ms on foot eq uipp ed with def ibrillators
For St. John Ambulance the marathon not only provid es an opportunity to use their First Aid knowledg e a nd skills , but a lso allo ws Cadets, Adults a nd memb e rs of th e Fellowship to work together, firm in the knowledge that their s upport will help alleviate a lot of pain and s uffe ring.
The runnin g s pec tac ul a r provided its usual array of co lourful ga rment s and cos tumes with runn ers repr ese ntin g e ver y conc eivabl e c harity The 'F lin ts tones' and othe r ma sco t provided enterta inm e nt to the tho usand of youn gs ters crowding the tree s.
Not funny how eve r, for the runn ers who uffe red du e to the bli ste rin g co ld. St. John Ambulance Firs t Aid po ts se t up nea r th e s tart of the ra ce, were bu s ier th a n expected with many runner uffe rin g th e effects of extreme co ld ea rl y on.
It is difficult to compa re th e ca rni val at mo s phere of the marathon wit h another e vent. For 14 yea rs, blood , s wea t tear and triumphs hav e c harac ter i ed the gr ue llin g 26 mi le race. De pite th e ago ni es e ndured on Ma rathon day , it i indicative of th e com rad es hip and pop ul ar it y of the ra ce th at many of tho se who ran a nd undoubt edly uffered during thi s year' , ra ce will come back next year a nd put th e m e lve throu gh the same again. Luckily, once again th ey will be ab le to rely on the supp ort a nd expertise of St. John Ambulance member to he lp th em mak e it to the fini h lin e.
In the words of one runn er, "That 's what the Marathon is a ll abo ut - no pain no ga in. "
casualties. And just as well, as over 4640 runner s were treated, with 41 being taken to ho s pital. A further 60 spectato rs ne ede d treatment , eight of which also req ui red tran sfer to ho spital.
Common marathon ailments include ; chaffed sk in (a particular problem this year, thanks to bhe elements), windburn, bli s ers and cramps, th em Cl!Jts, st rain s, s prain s a n€! persistelillt cramps. In so me cases, runner s have s uffered fractured rib s and ankle, hypothermia , collapses due to re hydration and occasionally heart attacks.
16
Left - And we're off! 26,000 people took to the roads in this year's marathon
Below - That's it. I's knackered!
St. John World
Above - Cadets manned their own First Aid Station at this year's marathon and were kept very busy. I'm not qu i te sure who's enjoying this more - the Cadet or the casualty!
Left - Plenty of support as you reach the finishing line
St. John World 17
Marathon liliAN fA
by
Anne
Harper,
NVO Co-ordinator at NHO .
yi ng for a G/NVQ he would find th at a ot of hi s Cade t act iv iti es from o rga n is in g a jumb le a e through to he lpin g o ut with yo un ger Cadets, co uld be recog ni se d. Hi s Divi siona l Off icer co uld he lp him provide upportin g ev id ence whi ch wo uld sa ti sfy both the Challen ge ( hi s pe rso na l deve lop me nt ) a nd his SiXlh fO lm tUlors (h i future caree r).
Result: A motiv a te d Cadet who wi ll think twi ce a bo ut dropping 5t. John Ambulan ce.
A form tu tor who furt her recog ni se the va ue of 5 1. John Ambulanc e' imp act o n yo un g peopl e.
Parents/G uard ia ns who will encourag e Dea n to s ti c k with St. John Ambulan ce rath er th an im ply co ncentra te on one a pect of hi s deve lop me nt.
Barbara is a 3S yea rs old hea lth erv ce e mployee. She i al 0 a co mmit ted memb er of a 5 1. John di vis ion , working specific ally o n Co mmunit y Cu e. She pa ssed five " 0 " leve s at sc hoo l but by he r ow n admi ss o n " th at wa a lon g tim e ago " Whil s t she enj oy head
Result:
Left - Well at lea st three of them
it !
18 St. John World
Above - Lots of cuts and bruises on the way to the finishing line.
Left - Over 4640 runners were treated by st. John Ambulance members.
2.
3
5. A ppea
m. (3)
22 FIl!l id lub ricati ng join ts, bursae , and tendo n she a hs (7 23. Give drug to all ay exc tement or apprehension (6) 14. Stre ss - in a manner of speak ng . (6)
on th e mos popula r des t n at o ns appea r to be F r ance an d Spa in w ith th e u ua mass exod us to G reece and th e Greek s ands r ankin g q u te hi g h a o.
Curi ou l y, de p it e th e am ount of p l an n in g and o rga ni sa ti o n th a goes into ho id ays, e pec al y abmad , m os peo pl e h ow sca nt rega rd and take ittl e o r no preve nt a ve m eas ur es aga in st po sib le ho lid ay ill nesses. Co m mo n ho li day illn e ses r ange f r om headac hes and diarrhoea to fever and i nfec ti ons and a arge per ce n tage of the 20 mill ion Brit o ns on ho li day thi s yea r w su ffer o m e fo rm o illn e s.
Many w ill end u p eith er vi si t in g a p harm acy or a doc o r w hil s ab r oa d.
A ew impl e tep · befo r e go in g o n h o li day ca n e limin a e th e m ery th at eve n a simpl e tumm y b ug ca n ca u e. Tt i s al way w se to disc us · any fea r s o r mi sg v in gs ab o ut yo ur h o lid ay w ith yo ur fa mil y do c or hefore yo u go. A lt e m ati ve y yo u co u d o bt ain a copy o th e Departm ent of H ea l th ea fl e t , ' H ea th A d v ce fo r Trave er ., w hi c h offer d et ail of required and ad vise d co ur se o f in occ ul ati o n
acco r d in g t o th e co untr y yo u int end 0 v sit. H av in g a e an anu s ab is usua y a goo d p l
On Your Way
[f you suffer f r o m trave s c kn ess f ind th e m os t sta b l e p art of t he vehi c e ( be wee n he w n gs o f an ae r op ane and
Animal Complaints
Out; He
wa rd faciliti es t o c op e with ge n e r a l
Unfortun a te ly na t all vi s its to th e Clinic a re quite as s trai g ht - forward. On on e o ccas ion , w e w e re ov e r a n hour late b e c a u se our esc ort w as stopped b y I s r ae li g u a rd s and que stioned for a ges be for e bein g fined 200 Am e ri c an doll a r s Wh e n h e as ked what o f f e n ce h e h a d committ e d he wa s told to read hi s fine ti c k e t. A s it wa s written in H e br e w a la n g ua ge he did not und e rs t a nd , h e w as un a bl e to re ad it.
My j o urn e y s with th e Outreach tea m re -info rc ed fo r m e the difficulti es th ey f ace brin g in g h e lp to tho se wh o w o uld n o t oth e rwi se r ece iv e it. The pro bl e m s Hir a m a nd her te a m ca n
Sister Hiram Kraibni organi s e s and co-ordinates the Outreach visits , which take place thre e to fom times per week. A team of six of u s vi s ited Health Centre s, home s, refugee camps and medical centre s throughout the country. Due to travel restrictions imposed on the Palestinian community , it is virtually impo ssible for these people to trav e l to the Hospital for treatment.
The first villa g e w e vi s ited wa s Tulkarem , a vill a ge on the We s t Bank. Over 50 patients were a lready qu e uing to s ee a doctor when we arrived , mo s t were diabetics who had s topped taking their medication after one year because they felt better. Unfortunately they were now suffering the effects of diabetic change to the eye s, including cataract s and dam a ged retini .
I helped one of the nur ses te s t each patient s vi s ion. This involved the u s e of a 'C' chart; a chart with the letter C facing in different direction s , decrea s ing in s ize with each line. Patients indicate by u s ing their hand , which direction the letter is facing
The team worked solidly for three and a half hours, treating over 50 people, referring tho s e that required further or rnore complicated treatment to the Ophthalmic Hospital.
Workin g in temperatu lie s of 40 degree s and over, we were g rateful
24 St. John World
In tile secontl in our se,-ies l!f articles on tile St. John Opllthallnic Hospital, M,·s Ma,-y HUIlter takes a look tit tile in'Vtllutlble work l!f the 01,treach teanl.
for the con s t a nt flow of re fr es hm e nt s provid e d by th e he a lth ce ntre.
All the Outreac h c lini cs I vi s it e d were in different location s a nd the condition s varied con s ide ra bly At mo s t clinic s I w as re s p o n s ibl e f or vi s ion te s ting and in s tillin g th e e y edrop s nece ss ary to dil a te the pupil s, ready for the doctor to examine the fundu s (back) of the eye.
In s om e a rea s di a bet es was pre v alent , in others glaucoma a g enetic condition, wa s very common Thi s c a n in part be attribut e d to th e hi g h frequency of inte r - marri a g e betw ee n relation s 1n the younger a ge g roup s , s quints, con g enital glaucom a , c a taracts , and ver n al catarrh were very common.
Th e p a ti e nt s a re undyin g in th eir f a ith in St. J o hn a nd b e l ie ve th at d oc tors ca n res t o re s ig ht b y o pe ration s a nd e y e- dr o p s a nd th ey will d e finit e l y ee aga in. F o r so m e this hold s tru e, bu t sa dl y f or o th e rs th e c onditi o n m ay b e t oo a d va nced or too seriou s fo r trea tm e nt t o resto re s ig ht co mpl e te ly. In th ese cases, p a ti e nt s a re g r a t eful
Th e Outre ac h c lini c in G aza was a tot a lly diffe re nt ex p e ri e n ce to all the oth e r s. I acc omp a ni e d Jan et Bowman (Matron ), to d e liv e r steril e e quipm e nt a nd p ac k s to th e new ly op e n e d Gaz a Clini
politi ca l s ituation.
I w as fa s cin ated by t h e mobil e o peratin g the a tr e and th e numb e r of op e ra tion s th e y perform t h e re All operat ion s a re p e rform e d un d er local an aes thetic b eca u se th e re are no
Dea r Editor,
It s hould a lways be wo rn on in specti o ns, review s and other ceremonia l occasions.
Let 's get more practical
Kolossi Castle
The Hospitallers Order of St. John,
When Acre fell , decamped to Lirnassol,
Where a more sympathetic day-star shone , On sugar cane estate and vineyard wall.
It
Dear Eel it o r , Your s fa ithfully, Ruth Turner Athletic Union Leicestershire
St. John h as over the 12 years I have been a member beco me more re laxed and less military hence the change of unifonn fro m jackets to th e 'woo ly p ull y'.
, As a work s first a id er, I do not carry a white bag , we h ave a very practical bum which carries far mOre equipment Inc ludin g airways and a s ussex resuscitato r
Tradition has its p lace and I am for it , but when cover in g a Ru gby Match or the Cross Country Section of a Horse Trial s the White Bag become s Illlpediment as in public du ty uniforn1 we have 1iI0 means of s topping the White Bag napp in g aro und.
Our future depends o n get tin g yo un g peo pl e interested, too ofte n we hav e hea rd YO un gs te rs say "I would join but I am NOT going to wear that White Handbag "
On dl!lt ies sl!Ic h as Garden Parties and Retes where one is not lik e ly to become Oove'Ied IJ1 mud , then the White Bag co uld be worn , being discarded for s uc h things as alrea dy me ntion ed.
Thank
Yours fa ithfully, Ursula Richardson B uckinghamshire
Letters to the Editor are always welcome. Unless directed otherwise, we reserve the right to edit letters for reasons of space or tone Obviously the views expressed here are personal and do not reflect the official policy of The Order of st. John and its foundations. The address to write to is:
The Editor, St. John World, 1 Grosvenor Crescent, London SW1X 7EF.
Successi ve stem and dedicated Grand Commanders monitored the eastern seas, Developing the warm, productive land, Repelling Mamelukes and Genoese.
Louis de Magnac raised the present keep, Three storeys worth of airy, vaulted halls,
Earthquake nor enemy contrived to sweep
Those grim defenders from the burly walls.
Today , invaders from unnumbered shores
View citrus orchards from the crenellations,
Protruding gun barrels of previous wars
Replaced by camera lenses of more peaceful nations.
St. John World 27
The latest GRP Ambulance from Ws Coach builders developed from the high lysuccessful MIAB concept. The MIAB /W offers all the advantages of GRP and remountable bodies plus the extra Width needed in today's Ambulance service for full facilities to the primary stretcher whi lst maintaining easy provision of a second stretcher trolley. With the side sliding door option, MIAB/W creates new high standard s of accessibility for crew and equipment away from traffic pressure The side door als o op'ens up new PTS possibilities for the MIAB/W shell because of its doorway , lo w entry steps and additional capacity.
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Jernsalem
7'be Hospital
- 7'brough the Eyes of a Child
Nine year old, Charlotte Zideman, visited the St. John Ophthalmic Hospital in April. Here , in he r own words, she shares he r impressions of the work of the Hospital.
On W ednesday, 6 April, Mummy, Daddy, Victoria and w en t to visit the S1. John Eye Hospita in Jerusalem We went to gi ve some presents to the children who were in hospi al , as it was Hospital Awareness Week When we arrived , we were me t by Dr and Mrs Ward. Dr. Ward is the Warden asked Dr Ward how long he and his wife had lived in Jeru sa em. He told me that they and their dog Kelly, had been in Jerusalem for four years they ked it very much I asked h m if he would tel l me about the Hospital, as I had some questions to ask
He told me that the Hosp tal was started by the Kn ights Hospitallers of The Order of st. Johrl for pilgrims who came to the Holy Land Each time The Order of st. John moved a new hospital was started for poor people. Hospitals were bu ilt in Malta, Rhodes and Crete and the Hospital in Jerusalem was opened in 1882 The new building was opened in 1960, by HRH The Duke of G loucester There are 85 beds, 4 ward s, 70 nurses and 14 doctors They treat 70 ,000 patien ts a year and 7,000 patients stay n the Hosp ital. ask ed Dr Ward why the Hospital only look s after peop le who have problems with t heir eyes He told me that bright sunlight and dust can cau se eye infection s and that eye disease is the main problem in Israel.
One of the main operations is to remove catarac ts which can make people b ind Catar acts mostly happen to young and old people. Some babie s can be born without eyes Anothe r of the ma n op erat ons s to correct squ i nts Squint s are w h en peo ple look as if they are cross-eyed
Dr Ward also told me that t hey now have a mobile hosp ital which is part of Operation Outrea ch and goes to Gaza each week, where there are lots of poor people who find it d ifficul t to get to the Ho spi t al.
We then went to the Ch ldren'S Ward and Vic oria and I gave the chi ldren some Be rt ie Badgers and Mattie Moles We also gave t hem itt e cuddly t oys which had been made by some Cadets from Bury St. Edmunds D ivision
We then went to Dr. Ward's office and ha d a drink and some biscuits Soon it was time to leave and we signed t he visitor ' s book and said goo dbye. I rea ly enjoyed my visit t o the Hospita and hope to go back aga i n soon. (Charlotte Zideman is a member of Parsons Badger SettY
, Ar ea Staff Officer County Staff Officer Camb rid ge and Norfo lk , and eve ntually As oc iation S ec retary. She was honour ed fo r her work in St. John Ambu lance on three occas io ns, w he n s h e wa s in vested into The Order as S e rving S is te r Offi cer Si s ter and fina ll y Comma nd e r Si ster. In 1976, s he was awar ded a n MBE by HM The Queen.
In late r year s , Ann e Ettr id ge s uffe red ill h ea lth b ut contin ue d to he lp w h er e she co uld jud g in g Fir t A id Competitions or prese nting cups and ce rtific ates.
In the word of o ne of h e r many co ll eag ues, "A nn e Ettrid ge wa the sort of p e rso n who was h e ld in awe beca u e of h er bearing a nd a ll s he s tood for, both in a nd out of uniform One co ll eague com m e nt ed that at las yea r's s umm er camp, h e wa s impressed by th e res pec t th at the you nge r officers how ed her. Anne founded the Summ e r County Ca mp in 1954
"I n lo s in g Anne we hav e os a grea la dy who h as e nh a nced th e iv es of th e peop le who h ave known her ," sa id one of he r co ll eag u es.
A nn e will be sa dly mi ssed by her fam il y a nd f ri e nd s.
In an English Country Garden
Ov e r 2 500 p eo ple e nj oyed th e g lorio u s un hi ne at Rook ey Manor Garde nin g Fair ove r Ma y B a nk Holid ay weekend.
B ea tin g a ll prev io u s re co rd s, the fair h e ld in aid of Ramp h i r e St. J o hn Ambu lance ra i e d over £9000.
c h n eeded f und s for H a mp s hire St. John Amb ul a n ce. Thi e nab e o ur h ardworkin g voluntee r to provid e a first c lass se rvi ce to th e p ubli c"
Sympathy Scoops Top Prizes
Following h er success in last year's London to Blighton HCVS RW1, Symp athy t00.k pm again th is year and collected two top prizes. The Ford A' vintage ambulance was agai n st some stiff competition from am ex-Brighton Corporation Trolly Bu s, a plivately owned MOlTis LDI AmbuLance , an ex-Red Cross
Bedford and an LAS owned ex-LCC Talbot. Despite this, s he managed to emerge victoriQus a s winner in her class , claiming the much coveted 'Paul A Adorian Trophy She also scooped the 'Ford Motor Company Challenge Cup for the b est Ford vehicle o n parade.
Sympathy was driven by Bob Singers, a member of the committee set up to oversee the running o f the vehicle, and navigated by lain R ennieLaw
The trophies will be on di s pla y i n the reception area at NHQ until next April.
St. John World 7
Sedgley
Board
njoy these, h e n re -fi ll them with 20p pieces to f ill o u r new ambula n ce'. She then handed them out to h er Cadets alild Badgers who did j u s t t h at. Each tube held aro u nd £ 13 a nd the yo u ngsters made a considerab le contrib u tion towards d v s iona l fu n ds
New Offices
cake and bottle s ta ll ) ra ised £280 and £930 re s pectiv e y.
Another al l-purpose St. John s tall staffe d by County Pres id en t Mrs Gianetta Carr and he r team of helpers rai sed over £400. Add to that another £S20 ne tted from the sa le of St. John raffle ticket s a nd county funds
Fellowship News
She il a Puckl e General Sec retary of the St. John Fel lowship offers a brief account of the Reunion and AGM held at Chichester on IS- 17 Apri , 1994
Following two years of intense pl anning, over 300 Fellowship members, including 97 year old Mrs Jo nes from Donca s ter arrived at Pontins Chalet Hotel near Chichester for the two day meeting.
We re ce ived lot s of messages of good will inc luding one from the Chairman of the Durban Branch , in South Africa. We were touched t hat he s hould remember us ar the t ime of t he ir crucial elect ion.
In his address, General Leuchars thanked the members for their hard work during the year , especially for s pon sor ing a nurse at the Hospital in Jerusalem.
He was p eased at the increase in Branche s but asked members to make contact with lo cal divisions, which he hoped would lead to invitations both ways and opportunities to he lp. He said he would not be happy until all members joined the Fe ll owship on retirement from the Brigade Finally , he made reference o the imp ications of the Charities Act 1992, which nade it desirab le that t he Fe ll owship and the Badgers s hould be incorporated into the
have receiv e d a much-welcomed boo st.
The St. John Ambulance Banbury Marching Band made an appearance as did 'Sy mpathy the gleam ing 1929 vintage ambulance Their pre se nce helped to entice a further £930 from v isi tor s to the Sale. Other pro cee d s included sta ll-holder entry fees.
Wiltshire St. John Ambulance is very grateful to The Cou ntess of Shelburne and The Earl of She lburne who donated the use of the grounds.
Statutes of the Order.
I was then delighted to receive a bouquet of flowers and a card signed by aJl the members present and was pleased to be able to pay tribute to all those who had helped make the weekend a success.
Other topics covered included: the adoption of the Accounts and the election of the Centra l Committee, the appointment of new members, the selection of County and Regional members under our Charter and a brief talk by Lord Westbury on the Robert Be nevo lent Fund , whi ch s open to members of the Fellowship
The Hospi taJler Sir Godfrey MiltonThompson then gave a mo s interesting ta lk on the situation in Is rae l and it 's affect on o ur Hospita l. Thanking members for their generous contributions over the years, he paid specia tribute to the courage of Crystal N icholson, of Exmouth Bra nch, who in s pite of ser iou s ill nes s had continued to donate the proceed s of her writings to the Hospital.
I have received many cards and letters of appreciation since that weekend and NO grumbles. As many said, it was a n unforgettable meeting of old friends, united by a sense of service. To me it €!pitomised what the Fe ll ows h ip is a ll abo ut. Thanks to you all.
St. John World 9
go ri sed into tw o sectio n s: I ) avoiding the a ll erge n 2) dru g treatments.
With most a ll e rg ie s , th e b e t treatment is unqu est io nably to avo id th e offending allergen How ever thi s m ay not b e as easy w ith po ll e n s. Plants which use wind-borne di s tribution sca tte r hu ge quantities of po ll en over wide di s t an ce s Thu , urb a n environment a re no prot ecti o n from ex po ure Staying indo ors ca n often be the o nl y practica l so lu tion and eve n th e n yo u are n ot totally p rotecte d es p ec ia ll y as urban pollution ca n m ake it worse.
If your preci se a ll ergy s k n own, it m ay be po ss ibl e to limit your contact with the poll e n in qu estion For example, tho se a llerg ic to grass sh o uld avoid sp e ndin g tim e o utd oors durin g th e poll e n seas on.
There are a wide variety of dru gs ava il a bl e , m o s t ca n be bought over he co unt e r. These c an be divid ed int o three ca te gor ie s :
2) A ntihi sta min es des igned to be taken throughout the seaso n ego astemizole
3) The latest, fast-acting, non-drow sy antihistamines ego terfenadine and loratadine.
F urth er information on hayfeve r is availa bl e fro m:
The Pollen Re sea rch Unit , U ni versity of North London , 166-220 Holloway Road , London N7 8DB.
Pl ease se nd a n SAE.
Eating Disorders the Facts
The m a in sy mptom of a n orexia nervo sa is th e relentless pursu it of thinn ess thr o u g h se lf-s tarvation a n d a fear o f beco min g fat.
• Eating disorders have one of the hi g he st mortalit y rates of all psyc hiatric illne sses - over 10 per cent of s ufferer s die, either from the effects of starvation or b y committing s uicid e.
• Research ha s shown that about 2 per cent of women - 60000 people at anyone time - suffer from eating di sor der s. But it is believed that the true figure is much hi g her
• A pproximatel y 10 per cent of s uffe rer s are men.
• S peciali st treatment centres throughout the UK can only treat a bout 1500 pa tients each year
• Only about 50 per cent of those diagno se d as having an eating di so rder have recovered after 5 years.
• Anorexia is a very sec retive illness.
• One third of anorexics have been sex ually abused.
• People with eating di so rder s have a di s torted body image - they are convinced the y are fat even when they are dangerou s ly thin.
Fighting the Fag
If yo u re trying to g iv e up c igarettes , eating more vegetables could help S cie nti s ts ha ve found hat a plate of lightl y cooked a ub ergi n es, potatoe s, cau li flower and tomatoe s contains a s much nicotine as two cigarettes. But
TMillionaire Brothers Help with Completion of SJA Launch
s ince th e n a nd the ge n eros it y of the Barclay brothers , it h as no w g iv en in s truction s to the boatbuilders to co mplete the buildin g of the unique craft.
Additional fund s will be needed to eq uip the la un c h with mod e rn lifesaving medical eq uipment , a nd to pay f or any price in creases s inc e the la s eval u atio n Ho wever, it is hoped that fundrai s in g events st ill in th e planning stages
IAccident' Highlights Need for Safety Procedures
Heroes Drag Man from Blazing Car
Coping ,,"th DISABILITIES
Spinal injury
In
"
Camilla " I was engulfed by
and an
Why did it
to me ? I wa s 24 years old my life wa s ju st beginnin g, I had a job I loved , a good soc ial 1ife , lot s of f ri e nd s and suddenly it had been cruelly whipped awa y by a drink-driver. Those fir st few week s were unbearable I lo st all in centive to live I wanted to die What was left for me now ? I wa s a cripple I didn t want to see anyone not family , not friend s I couldn t bear th e look of sorrow and pit y in their ey €s when they spoke to me It made me feel worse
"Then as people cam e to see me and tried to be po sitive about wmat had happened I began to believe that I could do somethin g to reverse it. I thought about all the film s I had wa c hed and book s I had read about peopl e who again s the mo st in surmountable odd s had beaten terminal illne ss. I suppo se you could call it the ' 1 can beat thi s syndrome ', ma ybe everyone goe s th rou gh thi s, I don t rea ll y kn @w. It's f unny when I look back at it mow , I reali se how stupid I was being but at the it all seemed so po ss ible. So I began phy siotherapy and threw my self completely into it , hopin g that I would walk again But soon it became apparent that this was not to be
" When I finally left ho spital , I moved back home with my parent s and ·sold my fl at. Life began again, in a' different way In t!hl e begi mning I depended om my parents for IlilOst tlilings and I resented that. }But, gradually I developed a sen se of independence, albei t a state of semi -independence. I needed help wi h some thing s and I had to let my ·parents he lp I 14 St. John World
The controversy surrounding the employment of disabled people has dominated the news recently.
8t. John World looks at how two people have learnt to cope with disabilities of varying degrees and the range of support agencies and information available to them.
also
" I am now marri ed to a wo nd erf ul man and we have a normal' ife I wo rk part-ti me a a sec re tary fo r a large corp orati on who have bee n abso lutely wonde rful , prov id in g ramps and a ll the fac ilities necess ary to en sur e thaI I am as mo bil e as possibl e.
" Co ping with udde n, irrecovera b e dis· a bilit y s incredib ly di ffic ult an d a though it may see m like th e e nd of the world at the time it isn t. Don' t ge me wrong , I wou d give th e wo rld to be able to wa lk agai n, but noth in g shor t of a mi rac le will make tha happ en But acce ptance is half th e bat tl e. Wh e n you rea ch th at stage yo u real ise that li fe doe s go on "
Alth ough Cam ill a 's s ory is not necess arily indi ca ti ve of every d i ab led perso n, her journ ey thro ugh shock de press io n and ev entu al acce pt ance of her co ndi ti on is s imil ar to th e rout e take n by most di sab led peop le
Accord in g to the OPCS sur vey of 1988, there are 6. 5 milli on di sabl ed peop le in the Uni te d Kin gdom (e xcludin g Northern Ireland )
Di sab iliti es can be reg istered with a numb er of diffe re nt de partm ent s/ orga ni sa ti ons in clu di ng th e Dep art ment of Empl oy ment and the De partm ent of Hea lth As a res ul t it is ve ry d iffi c ul t to produ ce an exac t fig ure.
Th ere are va ri ous ty pes of d isa bili ty but not a ll are di sa blin g. These can range from epil e psy and dys ex ia to mul tipl e scl eros is and sp in al injury. Di sa bilit y s a very bro ad te rm , enco mp ass in g many for ms and var ieti es. As a res ult many di ffe rent orga ni sati ons are required o dea l with all of them
Dyslexia
Ov e r 6000 peo pl e, both admIts and chnldren, a re ass esse@ by psyc he lo gists fo r varyin g de grees of dy slex ia. eve ry year. Dys lexiC peo ple have di ff ic ulti es, to varyin g deg re es, in process in g, sequ enc in g and re tri evin g printed sy mbol s; both ge neti c and br ain mec hani sms
Ju/y1994
are inv o lv ed. Skill s in wo rkin g me mo ry and som e tim es in hands , eyes ulildl pe rce pt o n are imp aire d as a resti lt. 1i1he effects are parti c ul a rly non icea bl e in the de ve
"John had a ways bee n qui te s low to deve lop hi s rea din g and writin g skill s. Our o lder da ughte r, Sa rah was quit e brig ht and we didn t wa nt to press uri se Jo hn int o fee lin g th at he had to mee t or surp ass hi s s ster s aca demi c abiliti es. But by th e sa me to ke n, we wa nt ed him to do we ll. He always seemed to be st ru gg lin g , not hin g eve r app ea red easy
didn 't fee l und er press ure to ge t eve ryth in g rig ht firs t time. Thankfull y th e help and advice offe red by th e Dyslex ia Assoc iat ion proved in va lu abl e and they helpe d all thr ee of us to un de rstand th e di sa bili ty and earn to li ve with t. "
Your rights
Des pite th e impl e me nt ati o n of th e NH S and Commun ity Care Ac t 1990 there still exists two im porta nt pieces o f eg is lati on g iv in g right s o di sab led peo pl e and co nferri ng dut ies on loca l a uthoriti es to mee t th e nee ds of peo pl e w ith di sab iliti es.
The Chr o nica ll y S ick and Di sab led Perso ns Ac t 1970 (CSDP Act ) re qu ires loca l authoriti es to prov id e ce rt a in serv ices to peo pl e who th ey have as se sed as needin g th em It a so g ives peop le th e right to complai n to th e Secretary of State fo r He alth if th ey fee l the ir local authority has not f ul fi ll ed it s dut y towa rd th e m
Th e Di sabl ed Pe rso ns (Serv ice s, Co ns ultation and Re prese nta ti on) Ac t 1986 (DP Ac t) re in fo rces th e duty up o n loca a uth or it ies to assess peop le's need fo r services if as ked to do so It requ ires them to prov id e peo pl e wi th as mu ch re levan t ad d iti ona l in fo rm ati on as possi bl e , and to take ca re rs' a biliti es int o acco unt whe n und ert ak in g an assess me nt. It , also re qui re s loca l au th oritie s to assess the needs of yo un g peo pl e with disa biliti es and th e duti es up on loca l auth ori t ies.
Support agencies and advice
Depe ndin g on th e di sa bil ity, th e re is norm all y an organ isa ti on whi c h can prov ide th e hel p an d adv ice necessary to come to te rm s wi th it.
RADAR (Th e Roya l Assoc iati on fo r Di sa bilit y and Re habilit ation ) is a nati ona l orga nisa ti on wo rkin g with and for ph ys ica ll y d isa bl ed peopl e It ac ts as a press ur e group to improve th e e nviron ment for disa bl ed peo pl e, camp a ignin g vigo rou s ly for their ri ght s and ne eds , and challen g in g nega tiv e at titud es and ste reo types.
RADAR is parti c ul arl y invo lv ed with edu ca ti on hea lth socia l sec urit y, e mplo yme nt , ho lid ays , ho usin g and mobilit y. Th e Ass ociati on offe rs inform ati on, adv ice and s upp ort and produ ces inf oI111 at ive publicati ons. Althou g h RADAR doe s not have bra nc he s , it has a ne work of around 500 se lf-g ov e rnin g national and lo cal o rgan isa tion s in aftfili ation throu gh whi c h it di sse minates information re oe v in g feedmac k f rom di sa bled people around the country
An yone intere sted in re ce ivin g inform ation about di sa bilitie s should Conta ct: RADAR, 12 City Forum , 250 City Road , London ECI V BAF
LIFTING, HANDLING & TRANSFER
I would like further detail s c=J Nome would like a Ir demonstration of tho c=J Address (stoteprodu ct) Te l. No
T
Lon do n C leve la nd
helping people MAIZE CHANGE
1.M o
Doro
y, Mrs Co leman 32. Sidney Cha rl es H ow e ll
33. Ia n MacGregor Ma c intyre
34. Fre de rick A I-Lhur Butt e rwo rth
35 Ro bin o rm a n Cadbury
36. Ma rga 'e , O ve r
37 A ir Vi ce Mar hal A lexa nder Free la nd Ca irn s Hunt e r CBE AFC
38. Ke ith Barras
39 George William Golder Yu le MR CS LRCP DRCOG AFOM
40. Anne Je n nife r, Mr Mac leod
41. J ohn Edwa rd Cl a rk so n
42. Pe te r Ernest Wri ght
43. Gi lli an Mar y, Mrs Tucker
44 Steve n Thom s Wa s hin gton
45 Eri c A nth ony Ba rb e r
46. Bre nda, Mr Cording ey
47. T e re nce John Siggs OBE
4. John J a mes Davis
49. E li zabe th Jane, Mi ss Fu ll e r RG
50. J oseph All a n Edwards
51 Da vi d Thom a Rowl ey
"eating
The correct name for diabetes is diabetes mellitus. 'Diabetes' is derived from a Greek word meaning syphon, and 'mellitus' refers to the characteristic sweetness of the urine in those with diabetes. This title describes one of the most important features of the disease - the passage of very large amounts of sweet urine.
Diabetes is a disorder in which th e body is unable to ce>l1trol the amount of sl!lg ar in the blood Thi s occurs wh e n the mechani sm whi ch covert s su gar to energy is no lon ger fun ctioning properl y Thi s leads to an abnormally hi gh level of sugar in the blood , wh ic h gives ri se to a vari ety of sy mp om s initiall y If uncontrolled over several years, it may dam age variou s ti ss ue s of the bod y
Therefore , the treatment of di abe tes is designed not only to re ve rse an y symp toms you might have at the beginnin g, but al so to F>revent any serio l!ls pr:oblem s developin g later.
How does diabetes develop?
NOFmally , the amount of sug ar (glu cose) in the bod y is very carefull y controlled We obtain sugar from the food we eat , ei the r from sweet thing s, or after the dig es tion of starch foods (carboh ydrat€s ) , such as bread and potatoe s Under certain circum stan ces, however, sugar can be made in the body by breaking do wn bod y store s
The conver sion of sugar to energy require s the presence of the hormone in sulin , whi ch is produ ced by a gland called the pancreas.
Insulin is released when the blo od sugar ri ses after a meal and its level fall s when th e blood sugar decreases , for example during e xerci se In sulin therefore pla ys a vital role in maintainin g the correct le vel of blood sugar particularly by pre venting he blood sugar from ri sing too high When there is a shortage of in sulin or if th e available in sulin doe s not function correctly , then diabete s will re sult.
There are two main type s of diabete s:
I ) Insulin dependent diabetes - known a s type I diabete s or juvenile diabetes
2) Non -in sulin dependent diabete s - known as type II or maturity on set diab e tes.
People with non-in sulin dependent diabetes still produce in s ulin, although it may be in inadequate amount s, or i may not be working properly. They do not need in sulin in order to survive and , in mo st case s, can be
18 St. John World
treated by di e t, or by a co mb ination of d ie t and ta bl ets.
Tho se wi th in s ulin depe nd e nt d ia bet es on the othe r hand , beca use th ey produ ce littl e or no in sulin , will not s urv ive unl ess th ey are treated with in s ulin Ho we ve r , not all th ose who ake in sulin are necessaril y co mpl e te y dependent on it, but w thout it pe rfec t co ntrol of th e ir diab etes is not po ss ib le.
Who gets it?
In the United Kin gdom , as many as one to two per cent of th e population , a nd perhap s one in e ve ry 500 sc ho ol children ha ve diabetes. It ca n occur at any ag e but is ve ry rare in infants and becom es mu c h commoner in the middl e and older age group s. Amon gs t younger people , the sex es are almost equall y affected by diabete s, where as in older age group s, diabete s is commoner in women
Insulin dependent diabetes
In thi s type of diabete s there is a compl ete or near complete ab sen ce of in sulin , du e to the de str l!l ction of the in sulin-produ c in g cell s of th e pancreas Th ere is some tend e ncy for insulin dependent diab etes to run in fa milie s, bu t th e cond ition is far from bein g entire ly inherited The e xact cau se of dam ag e to he in sulin producing cell s is not known for certain , but contributory f actors are:
• Damage to the in sulin-producin g cell s , as a re s ult of viral and oth e r infection s
• An abnormal reaction of the body again st the in sulin -producing cell s.
In ge ne ra l youn ger peo pl e w ith di abetes (l ess th an 4
Non-insulin dependent diabetes
In thi s typ e o f d iabetes t he re is so me in sulin in th e body , but not e no ugh to maLnta in good health. Th e ca use is no t known. No n-in sul in d e pe nd ent di abetes used to be ca ll ed 'mat urity
Fa t or o ve rw e ght peop le are partic ul ar ly lik e ly to deve lop t hi s type of d iabe tes, as are memb ers of ce rt ai n famili es in wh om th e cond
other causes of diabetes
Di sease of th e panc reas -A ve ry few cases of d ia be tes are du e to vario us di seases of th e pancreas, suc h as infl amm at ion of the pa nc reas (pancrea titi s), or unu sual de posits of iro n Occasio na ll y, it occ urs in ra re forms of hormon e imb alance
Acc ide nts or illn esses - Maj or acci dents or illne sses are not thou ght to ca use di abetes but , by ca usin g a te mporary in crease in blood s ugar , the y may revea l pre-ex istin g di abe es or wo rse n esta bli shed di abe tes If your di a be tes was di sc ov ered dur ing th e course of a n illness, t is hi ghl y li ke ly that yo u had di abe tes be fo re th e illn ess, eve n thou gh yo u did not show any sy mptom s.
Occas ionally , durin g very seve re illn esses, s uch as a coronary, or afte r a seri ous injury or a maj or op erat ion, th e bl ood sugar ma y rise, produ c in g a sta te of te mpora ry di abetes
Psyc holo g ical stress is not be liev ed to ca use di abe es , but may certa inly exacerbate it.
Drugs - Som e dru gs can in c rease t he blood s ugar a nd may rev ea l pre-ex istin g diab etes
Corti son e- lik e (s teroid ) dru gs co mmonly do hi s, whil e wa ter tab le ts' (diureti cs), whi ch elim ate fluid f rom th e bod y, do so less commonly. There are no othe r comIiJil onl y used dru gs whi c h have tlais e ffec t.
'F he cOJil tra ce ptiv e pill - The ora l co ntra· cepti ve pill do es not nomlall y ca use di abetes, July 1994
but it may rai e the blood sugar le ve l s lig htl y in those who a lr eady have the co nd t ion
He red ity - He red ita ry fa c tors have a ready bee n briefly me nti oned T he ri sk that th e chil d of a father or mother who takes ins ul i n may deve lop some ty pe of d iabetes be fo re 20 years of age is hig he r than norm al. Howeve r, this is still ve ry s ma ll , pro bab ly about 1-5 pe r ce nt. In the rare situ atio n where bot h pa re nts have this type of diabete , th e r isk is f urther increa ed , but by an unc ert ain amo unt, and profess io nal ge net c co un se ll in g may be sought.
In th e more co mm on, non- insul in dep ende nt diab ete the s it ua tio n i so mew hat diffe re nt, in that he co ndit io n is predominanLly inh eri te d Beca use th s type of d iabetes us uall y occ urs in peop le who are midd le-age d or older there are relatively few wo me n of chil d-bear ing age with non- in s ulin depe nde nt diabete
So to umm a ri se , it is pos ib le for someone to in her t a pronen ess to diabete , but no t he co ndi t io n it se lf, whi ch wi ll o nl y deve lop as a res ul t of the infl uence of so
Symptom vary considera bly in the ir seve rity a nd ra te of onse l, bu t they ca n a ll be rapidly re li eve d by trea tmen t. T he main sy mptom s a re : • Thir 1 and a dr y mouth
• Pas ing large a mo unt of ur ine
• We ight loss
• T iredness
• Blurrin g of vis io n
Insulin dependent diabetes
The co nd ition deve lops fair ly quick ly, usua ll y ove r a few weeks but it may take as littl e as a few days or as lo ng as seve ra l mont hs.
With ou in s ulin treat ment he co nd itio n pro gr ess iv e ly worsen s, re s ul t in g in a s ig ni fica nt we ig h oss, de hyd rat ion, vo mi tin g, the o nse of drow s in ess and d ia bet ic co ma.
Non-insulin dependent diabetes
The sy mp toms are similar to th ose of insulin depend ent d abetes , but th ey deve lop mo
Some people with d iabetes fa il to notice a ny y mpto ms, but after
Treatment
D iabetes i a very co mmo n disorder. A lho ug h no ' c ur e' is po ssi ble , a ll types of d iabe tes ca n be tr ea ted and nOI1l1al hea lth resto
•
Un
Britain is increasingly a multi-racial and multicultural soci ety The majority of health care professionals who come into contact with pe0ple from varied cultural and racial minorities are white. Health professional s have long recognised that health beliefs co ntribute to the respons e patterns which may be shown by the sufferer and hislher social network - an observ ation which hi ghlights the complexity of mental health care acro ss cultures.
The conference is designed for managers , health care professionals and carers who are interested in addres sing the is sues surrounding the effects of race and culture in assessment , diagnosis and treatment in ment al
£150.00
Depression afflicts man y in our society with a highproportion ofindividuals needing medical and psychological help at some point
The conference will highlight problems in recognition , diagno sis and tre atment of depressive disorder. It will look at the latest research, along with practical help for diagnosis and identification We will look at different paradigms of treatment from drug therapy to various forms of psychotherap y and counselling.
This conference is aimed at all mental health professionals plus thos e who work in allied fields including GPs , psychiatrists , psychotherapists ,counsellors , social workers , teachers , and clergy.
This 3rd St. George s Eating Disorders conference will build on the success of the last two. We intend that it should address the practical issues involved in caring for the eating disordered person , be this obesity , anorexia nervosa , or bulimia ne rvosa There will be input about the St. George's approach , about community programmes and about various counselling and therap eutic approaches that are available Some of the conference will be given over to teaching workshops to show how to use these therapeutic appro aches effectively in your work.
further details or to obtain programmes for any of the above conferences, please contact: a Weitz, The Conference Unit, Dept. of Mental Health Sciences, St. George's Hospital Medical School , r Terrace, London SW17 ORE. Tel.: 081-725 5534. Fax : 081-725 3390
Chel s ea opened it s g ate s to the gardenin g w orld on 23 Ma y, w ith its us ual magnificent arra y of horticultural deli g hts . Hundred s of garden s w ere erected for Europe' s horticultur a l ex tra vaganza , w ith an e stimated 40 ,000 vis itor s pa ssing through th e gate s during the w eek. S t. John World reports.
Th e C he lsea F lower S how pro v id es a sparklin g c ombi nation of n atura l be a uty and ho rt ic ul t ura l flair. The ga rde ns, u nique in des ig n, fl amboyant in co nt e n t and m es mer is in g ly bea u tifu l are a ga rd e ner's h ave n T he e nd less h ours of pai nstakin g ly, intr icate wo rk a nd de lica te pl anti ng we re ob v io us as E urop e admired o ne of the world' s m o st fa mo us gardening sh ow s
Th is year 's Ga la Prev ie w wa s in a id of St. J o hn Amb u lance a nd the R oya l H o rti c ultur a S oc ie ty, w ith St. J o hlil A mb ul a lil ce expe c ted to be n efi t subs ta nt ia ll y Th e St. Jo hn /Safeway ' E d ibl e g arden , demo nstrat in g way s of m ak in g yo ur ga rden s afer , proved ve ry po pul ar. Des ig ned by Jul ie To ll last year's Fi skar Sword of
E xce ll e nce awa rd wi nn er, t he garden was a ve ri ta bl e trea s ure -c he st elf every co nce iva bl e, e dibl e p la nt. T empta ti o n p roved too m uc h for
E st he r R a nt ze n , w ho he lp ed he rse f to a n ed ibl e bo uqu et - a c loser eye was kep t o n me mb e rs of the publi c!
Fl owe rs like hea rtsease, nasturt i um s, da y lili es and ox-eye da is ie s, unu sua l m l!ls hr oo ms a nd eve ryday vege ta bl es provi ded a ta nta li s in g trea t fo r th e kee n ga rd e ner. Th e Ga rd e n als o featu red s ever a l tree s includin g a lime a nd 20f t swee t c hes tnu t. Vi n es a nd ho ps c lot hed t he cove red ve ra nd a c um di ni
St John World
ellous
P
s a nd
are a mo ng t th e mos risky p laces, acco untin g fo r 43, 000 ca ua lti es inju red from f a ll a nd oth e r mi sh a ps. Abo ut 18,0 00 hos p ita l case are ca used by injuri es f ro m tr ees, he dges a nd pl a nt , whe th er from th o m s, s heddin g br a nc hes, trippin g o ve r tr ee stump s or oth er acci d e nt s. An additi o na l 10, 00 0 c hi ld re n a re inj ur ed o n ga rde n pl ay equipm e nt f ro m sw in gs to c imbin g fra mes.
St. John Ambu la nce has long bee n co nce rn e d w i h th e di stur bin g lac k of sa fe ty in ga rd e ns a nd prop e r ma int e n ance of t he eq ui pm ent used. I nc rease d ga rd e n mec hani sa ti on h a also put po te ntia y da ng erou s pow e red mow e rs, he dge tr imm e r , c u ltiv ators an d c h a in sa ws into un ski ll ed hand s. Curiou s ly, sca nt rega rd is also show n wh e n dr ess ing f or th e g ard e n! H ow ma ny t imes have you seen peo pl e powe r mowin g th e law n in umm e r wea rin g beac h sa ndal s or ri s kin g a gard e n fork throu g h th e ir foo t by wo rkin g in rubber boot s or e v e n tr a in e rs? Us in g th e e d ib le g ard e n, St. John Ambu la nce were keen to empha s ise th e pl eas ur es of t he ga rd en but also highli g ht th e d an gers
O th er ex h ib itor s inc l ud ed the Da il y Mirro r , who e n e red th e fi rs t ga rden in th e hi s tory of th e Che lsea F lower S how to be d e igned by c h ildren ; T he N ation
On Call County and Divisional News
Do YouKn wYour Manuals?
6. Fac ia
ture
Slu gg shness in
(5
(4)
period holdin g it back. 7)
Bo ut of vomi tin g an d di arrh oea : s range y t res to res g an t. (6.9)
9. Repea t in c hange o a axa ti ve d ru g (8)
15. Direc ion to cure a skin lesio n (5)
16. Seen on l ps durin g e pil ept ic fi t. (5)
19. After a d ramati c presen ati o n, boy perfo rm ed surgery. (8)
21. Affe rent fi ament of nerve ce ll. (7)
22. Unu sua seas id e il ness. (7)
25. Enzy me in bl ood e rum ca pabl e of disso lvin g fo re ign ce ll s. (6)
27. Ep ide rm a fi lame nt s. (4)
28. A sma ll exa mple of II across in an eye lid (4) r------------------ -----------, i St. John Fellowship
: If you h a ve se t up a bran c h , pl ease : kee p t he Ge ne ral Sec re ta ry in fo nTI e d : by f illin g in th e fO nTI be lo w a nd : se ndin g it to: : Sheila Puckle, General Secretar y, : St. John Fellowship , St. John s : Gate, Clerkenwell , London : ECIM
Do You Know Your Manuals? Answers
1. Quick ly ay th e casua lty down with the burnin g side upp erm os , and extin guish he lames by dous in g the victim with wat er, or anoth er non-flamm able liquid
2. To restore a sup ply of fres h air to the casua lty's ungs and to seek medica aid
3. Do not let he casua lty move unnecessarily, eat, drink, or smoke. I he complains of thirst, moisten his lips with water. Do not leave the casualty unattended Reassure him consta n ly.
4. Crush syndrome occurs when toxic substances that have built up in muscles as a res ult of damage (by crus hing) are released into the circulation. This is extreme ly se rio us and can cause kidney failure.
5. This is a dangerous infection which spreads through the nervous system, causing muscle spasms and paralysis
6. To move the casualty to cool surroundings and to replace lost fluid and salt.
7. Pull steadily in the line of the bone until the limb is securely immobilised You can do no harm provided th at you pull only in a straight line, but do not persist if traction causes into lerable pain
8. Sp rains, strains and deep bruising
8. Rest the injured part. Apply Ice or a cold compress. Compress the injury. Elevate the injured part.
10. The trunk and head
11. Malaria, prickly heat fungal infections and swimmer's ea r.
12. When the body temperatu re drops below 35 °C (95°F).
The following letter was sent to Luton Town Football Club following an incident during the Newcastle Cup Game.
Dear Editor
My father Jack Nash, h as been a n a rd ent Luton supporter si nce 1948 whe n he moved to th e town. At the Newcast le Cup game he collapsed during the f ir st-half whe n Barry Venison cleared John Hartson's header off the line. When I turned round he had stopped breathing and hi s heart had stopped
The St. John Amb ul ance Brigade and Paramedic crew were quickly on the scene and m a naged to revive him. It is thank s to their speed of action and experti se that my fat her wa s given the chanc e to live
I am p lea sed to s ay that after a three week s tay in the L ut on and Dun s table Ho spital my fat h er wa s di scharged a nd is now back home Unfortunately , h e i not wel l enough to return to Kenilworth Ro ad but he cont inu es to fo llow the fortune s of Luton Town clo se ly.
"When a man is tired of London he is tired of life . .. "
Founded in 1948 and currently situated at 50 Eaton P ace,
t he St. John House Club is your club in London It offers
• Regency terrace in t he heart of London
• Ce ntral Heating
• Six tw in rooms, all en suite.
• Four si ngle rooms.
• All rooms with TV/Rad io Alarm.
• Cosy bar facilities
We also accommodate meet ngs, receptions, luncheons and cocktail parties.
THE ST. JOHN HOUSE CLUB, 50 EATON PLACE, LONDON SW1 8AP.
TEL: 071-235 2732. July 79 94
Through your match day programme , my mother , myself and al l of our fam il y wou ld lik e to offer heartfelt thank s to a ll the people a t the gro und that night, who helped to revive my father and extend hi s life We wou ld al 0 lik e to thank everyone at Luton Town Football Club for their good wi s he s and the flowers they sent to my father wh il s t he was in h os pita l.
Yours faithfully Trevor Nash Ampthill B edfo rd
Dear Editor,
Durin g the twenty years that I competed in St. John Ambulance co mp ettioms. Our trainer managed to purc ha se co pie s of National Markin g Sheets after the events. I would like to know if this is still po ssib le.
July 7994
Lik e mo st counties, the members are mo s t interested in the new Ambulance Competition and would like to st udy thi s year's marking sheets prior to commencing any training towards ne xt year's competition.
Unlike the rule s for First Aid and Caring for the sick, which dis-allow any profe ss ional or training pro fessiona l nurse or s urgeon the Ambulance Competition does not sti pulate if profe ssio nal ambulance personnel can be included in a team.
I would be g rateful if the competition's committee cou ld give the matter some thought.
Yours faithfully Mr L W Aldwinckle A.S.O Special Duties H ertfordshire
Dear Mr Atdwinckle,
This is the first year the Ambulance Competition is being run as part of the Brigade National Finals. If yo u write to the Manager, Medical Service after the competition on 2 July , copies of the competition papers s hould be avai l able.
The Competitions Committee gave considerable thought to the question you raise in your penultimate paragraph. They decided that in First Aid and Caring for the Sick competitions doctors and professional nurses have an advantage over St. John members because of their trainin g and qualifications. Whereas St. John Ambulance members qualified to take part in the Ambulance competition are competing at the same level as the professional a mbul a n ce member. Care being taken to ensure the competition s based on aspects of the ambulance training sy llabu s, where the standard of knowledge and ski ll is the same for both St. John Ambulance members and professional amb ulance personnel.
st. john Ambulance Trainers, Geoff Arney and Christine Summer following an FAW training course they conducted in Essex.
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s,. John Nurse
Gr"du"'es
"On May 13 , 1994, in the Guildhall i n London , I was present to watch Ibrahim Jawdat EI Zig rece ive his Masters degree in Health Managemen t , " w r ites Mrs Ruth Parks, former Matron of the St John Ophthalmic Hospital. n 1982, Ibra h im applied to ta k e the Ophth a lm ic N urse Training Course, of three month s duration, at t he St. Jo h n Ophthalmic Hospita l. At the time, t he Very Re vd Da vid Elliot, the Dea n of st. Ge or ge 's Cath edr a n Je ru sal e m supp o rted his application.
Ibrahim came from the Je la z one refugee ca mp, no t a r from t he Hospi t a l on the road to Ramal ah . He w as a ke en an d enthusia stic pup l , and was ve ry succe ssfu on the cour se. He stayed on and w or k ed as a me m be r of the Oph t hal m ic Outreach Project Team , providing Eye Care Services to t ow n s and vi lages in the West Ban k and Ga za Str i p Ibrahim e xpre ss ed a de sire to do hi s gene r al nur se training at the Roya Free Hosp ita l. He was accepted into the Nur sing Sclno ol, a nd h as st ea di ly c li mbed t h e a d de r ever si n ce b ra hi m is at pr esent employed as D irectorate Manager, Guy 's an d st. Th omas' NH S Trus t. T he Bishop n Je rusalem, Th e Mo st Re vd Sa mir Kafity, and Ca n o n Dav id Elli
Hospi,", Bed Endowed
It is ten years since a fund for the endowment of a bed at th e
Op ht halmic Hospital by st. Jo h n Divisions was envisaged Now, ten years after its inception, the target has finally been reached
Ten years ago, Jane George was a Nursing Member o Daven tr y st. Joh n Ambu lance D ivision Having completed bot h h er nu rsi n g and op h t h a lm ic tra ining in 1983, she successfull y applied to the Hospital for a one year post.
Jane took with her a cheque for £1,000 from Da vent ry D ivision which she presen t ed to the Warden On hear ng of th is, he Hos p aller Sir Stephen Miller , sugge sted that the gift sh ould be t he foundation stone for a £70,000 appeal, the amou nt re q uired to endow a bed. The sugges t ion was agreed and an appe al was launc h ed th rough the St. John Review f eve ry D ivisio n h ad d ona t ed £1 4 , the target would have been reached imm e d iat ely - unfor t unate y this did not happen
By 1987, the fund had reached £27,000 but due to inflat on the cos of endowment had risen to £85,000 A second appe al w as ma d e by Sir St ephen in
n ster
Store: Lo mb ard St. Sto urport , Herefo r d & Worcester 3 rd 445C Harrow
Sto r e: Sta ti o n Road, H arrow, Lo ndon
Weybridge Di v s on, a ho ug h not q ualify in g for a cas h prize, d d co ll ec t t he m ost mo ney overa ll - with a grand to a of £ ,776.88
Pic t ured righ t - Memhers of Weyhridge D i vis i on, pictu r ed enjoy ing {he fun-side of {he co ll ections
In Safe Hands
Ev ery yea r n Grea t B ri tain te r all y hundred s of thou sand s of yo un g c hi l dren are i n volv ed in acci dents in the hom e.
Three q uarters of t hese affec t ch il dren und er t hr ee, and one in f ve has an acc id ent se riou s enou g h to need profess io n al med ca attent on.
n Sa e H and s s a step by step v deG g ui de to F r st A d ec hn iqu es for c hi l dr en It s an ex trem e y va l u ab e
guid e fo r anyo ne wh o s w orri ed th a th ey would no t be sure wh at ac tion o t ak e i f th eir child s opped brea t hin g, or uffer ed a se ri o us inj ury.
T he video is approxim ate y 35 minut es on g and divid es n to nin e wel l mark ed sec tio ns. It costs £9 99 and w ill be wid e y ava l ab e in v id eo o utl ets and by ma ord er from St. John Supplie s (prod uc t c od e P200 27).
Th e v i deo has a r ea dy bee n very well rece iv ed and h as bee n r ev ie w ed by var o us p are ntin g m agazi nes
St. John
LIFESAVER
Grandad Saved from Right Pickle
Just two weeks after she had completed a life-saver course, Anna Jones saved her grandfather from choking to dea th on a pickled onion.
Grandad David Powell was gasping for breath and beginning to panic with the onion lodged in his throat , when 11 year old Anna , came to the rescue.
Hearing his gasps, she rushed to her grandfather and delivered a couple of sharp slaps to his back in a bid to dislodge the onion.
"I thought my last breath was coming -I could not breathe and wa s beginning to panic when Anna ran in, " said Mr Powell aged 55.
Anna of Stratford Green, Barry, sa id "I saw he could not breathe and remembered what I had been taught."
Anna had completed the course just two weeks earlier with her mum.
(Photograph co urtesy of the Western Mail and Echo Ltd )
Sister, 10, Saves Brother's Life
A young Leigh schoolgirl ha s been heralded a real-life heroine after saving the life of her four year old brother as he choked on a sweet.
Emma Hobbs , 10, has been praised by members ef the local St. John Ambulance aft€:F it was revealed she learned her lifesaving skills at a First Aid course.
The drama occurred at the family home in Victoria Drive. As James' mother tried in vaifl to dislodge a sweet that mad become stuck in his throat, Emma swung into action Mrs Hebbs' attempts to dislodge the obstruction by slapping the youngster hard on the back several times, were I!Insuccessful.
Performing a technique she had learned on her St. John Ambulance First
6 St. John World
Aid course, Emma got behind James and dislodged the sweet using the abdominal thrust.
Jame s appeared shocked as the swee t flew out of his mouth and remained s ilent for a few minutes before the whole family burst into tears with the realisation of what might have happened.
St. John Ambulance Area Commissioner Mr Parker sa id, "I am very pleased to hear of this young girl's actions and it confirms my belief that all youngsters should be taught ba sic life sav ing techniques."
First Aid Skills Save a Life
Two members o f Warwickshire St. John Ambulance put their First Aid skills to the test and saved the life of a motori s t.
John and Liz Boneham of Kenilworth were travelling home with fellow St. John members when they were called to a halt at the scene of an accident.
Well-rehear se d in First Aid and lifesav in g technique s, they di ag no ed the driver had s uffered a hea rt a tt ack. As the man' s pulse fa d e d , the pair with th e he lp of colleague Allison Bradbury immediately co mmen ced cardio- pulm o na r y re uscitat ion. On the arrival of the a mbul ance service, th ey were asked to co ntinue und e r dir ec tion.
Thankfully, th e m an s tart e d breathing again, a nd was taken to St. Cross Ho spital where he is reco verin g.
The Ambulance Service have s in ce complimented th e three St. John Ambulanc e members involved , " It is mo st fortunate that they happened to be passin g the scene within minutes of th e accident. Their prompt and efficient action undoub te dly save d this gentleman's life
Two Cadets travelling with Liz and John at the time also de serve prai se for their help. John Boneham, aged 12, from Kenilworth and Louise Felstead , aged 16, from Rugby, comforted the driver' s wife whilst he was receiving attention
August 1994
St. John LIFESAVER Cadet Saves Sister's Life
year old
Tere a jumped into actio n, despite havin g her eg in pla s ter whe n s he noticed he r 10 month old s ister chok in g on a piece of pl ast ic from her bab y-wa lk e r. Doctors sa id without Teresa 's quick -thinking the baby wou ld have died.
Proud Mum Elizabe th Wyatt, aged 36, from Beda u Wales , sa id , " T eresa was so cool - we're very , very proud of her and extre me y g lad s he decided to go to First Aid c la s e " Teresa ma nage d to get across th e room , des pite being in plaster , and put the baby across her lap. A one-and-a-half inch piece of plastic, from the ba by-wal ker was stuck in Sammie-Jo's throat."
Divi s ional Sup e rinte ndent Stephen Allen , of St. John Ambulance in Llantri sant said , " We are just as proud a her family. Too often people just fr ee ze when they see something like thi happening. Taking a little time to le a rn as Teresa did , really does mean th e differen ce between life and dea th ."
Teresa, a first-year pupil at Bryncelynog Comprehensive School , had taken about 15 St. John Ambulance First Aid lesso ns. She said, " T saw her coughing and turning blue. I managed to lift her out of the baby-walker and get back to the chair. I put her over my knee like they showed us in St. John and tapp ed her sharply - not too hard - four times in the middle of her back. The plastic came out of her mouth and she started vomiting."
"It was a bit sca ry , I suppose, but I'm glad I wa s a ble to help her. "
X-Ray Vision
Hidden in the Wordsearch grid are the following 15 WORDS (To find the answers read across, down and diagonally, both forwards and backwards. Some words overlap and share common letters) Clavicle, Coccyx, Femur, Fibula, Humerus, Mandible, Pelvis, Radius, Ribs, Scapula, Skull, Tarsals, Tibia, Ulna, Vertebrae.
Breathing life
Wh e n Mrs Pat Robinson attended a Breath of Life sessi on at her lo cal church in the West Midlands , little did she realise that she would soon have to put those newly learned skills into practice a cook in a local public house , was catering for a funeral party , when one of th e guests s uddenly collapsed. The elderly lady was not breathing and had no pulse
Pat showed one of the other guests how to do cardiac massage , whilst she opened the airway and proceeded to perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation After a few minutes the old lady started to breathe again and is today alive and well thanks to Pat' s efforts.
The pub landlord was so impressed that he has invited Sedgley St. John Ambulance Division to run a special breath of life course for his customers.
St. John World 7
Nursing Bursaries
St. John Ambulance has once again confirmed its commitment to furthering research in the area of First Aid with the presentation of three Nursing Bursaries to Registered General Nurses.
The Bursaries, generously donated by Smith and Nephew and the Federation of 18+ Group , totalled £2000. Mrs Yvonne Moores, Chief Nursing Officer for the Department of Health , presented the Bursaries which are to be used to raise awareness of resuscitation techniques in the nurses' chosen area.
Bl!lr sary winners, Mrs Wendy Meade of Birkenhead and Mrs Sandra Curd of Lowestoft will be studying the emotive area of infant resuscitation, while Mrs Margaret Lewin of Kings Lynn will concentrate on patients with a personal or family history of cardiovascular disease.
In her address, Mrs Moore s sa id , "I am delighted to have been invited to attend this presentation ceremony. The work carried out by St. John especially in the field of Community Care is immense and invaluable and I congratulate each one of you on your success."
A Truely ISUPER' Badger
Congratulation s to Julia Treanor from Brambletye Badgers , in Redhill , for achieving her Superbadger Award.
When Julia started Badgers in September 1990 , s he was attending a special unit for the deaf in Epsom and therefore didn't know any local children.
To start with both Julia and Badger Leader Hilary Desmond had to wear a radio aid but with time Julia became proficient in lip-reading and the equipment was no longer required.
Thi s is the 13 th year that St. John Ambulance h as offered the se Bur ari es.
Caption - (I-r) Mrs Wendy Meade, Jill Scott, Lorenzo Visentin , Dame Audrey Emerton, Pat Butcher , Yvonne Moores a nd Sand,'a Curd , pictured at the presentation ceremony.
During thefirstfew months Julia had to wear hearing apparatus to communicate with 'other Badgers.
8 St. John World
Through Badgers, Julia got to know many local children and made lots of new friends. She has since joined Reigate and Redhill Cadets and Hilar y Desmond and all the members of Brambletye Badger Set are very proud of her achievements
Julia proudly shows off her Super Badge r Certificate.
Young Lifesavers Win Top Awards
Five young lifesavers chosen as Britain's 'Young First Aiders of the Year' , received a special Robert Balehin Award from John Patten, Secretary for State for Education on 12 July, at a ceremony held at St. John's Gate.
School c hildren Aidan Bradney aged 13, Loui se Jame s aged IS, Gareth Lowe aged 14 Ifan Miller aged 13 and Nathan Grenter aged ]4 , hav e all co ur ageo u s ly carried out lifesav in g First Aid in e m erg e ncy s itu at ion s
Th ese youngsters are five of hundre ds of people who have be e n t a ught emergency aid in sc hool through the St. John Ambulance Three Cross Award' training sc hem e First Aid i not on the national c urri cu lum but St. John Ambulance ha s lo ng felt that it s hould be. Laun c hed in the mid '80s as a flexible package for teachers, who, having attended a fo ur hour emergency aid co ur se, co uld teac h the sy llabu s us ing a
Fellowship
By Shelia Puckle
video and textbook , the Three Cross Award' sc heme goes a little way towards bridging the gap.
Professor Brian Livesl ey, DirectorGeneral of St. John Ambulance says, "These youngsters quick Fir s t Aid action s are a shining example of how the sk ills learnt under the scheme can help save lives. Those minute') immediately after an accident and before the ambulance cre w arrive can be crucial."
Award Winners
Aidan Bradney
Aidan Bradney of Stafford s hire helped a boy who had been struck by a car when he ran out from behind a sc hool bus
Having checked that he was breathing and that he had a pul se, Aidan carefully moved him over into the recovery position turning him away from his injured arm. None of the adults on the sce ne had First Aid skills and Aidan found him se lf instructing one to dress a wound on the boy 's head.
Louise James Loui se, of Abergavenny, Gwent , was walking through her home town of Abergavenny with a group of friends when th ey walked past a man lying drunk , uncon scio us and bleeding. Recog-
News
Since I published the first five new Branche s in the April 1994 ss ue of St. John World, ten more have been fo rmed wor ld wide.
This is a reco rd for the f irst half of the year. The Fellowship i s a growing concern, the bran c he s are:
Hamilton Retired Fellowship, New Zealand
Contact: Mrs M Whitin g, 130, Forest Lake Road Hamilton , N.J., New Zealand
York Branch, North Yorkshire
Contact: Mrs J M Berry , 49 , Rawcliffe Crof t, Shipton Road York Y03 6UW
Che lm sford & District Branch, Essex
Contact: Mr G M Betts, 11, Cowell Avenue, Che lm sfo rd , Essex CM12BY
Southwick Fellowship, Sussex
Contact: Mr F C P Tul e tt, 88, Heathfield Crescent, Mile-Oak , Portslade Sussex BN4 2YR
South Tyneside, Northumbria
Contact: Mrs E McCain , J 1, Bum T errace, Hebburn , Tyne & WearNE311UP
Torbay Branch, Devon
Contact: Mr G Kirkham MBE, 2, Compton House ,
nising the man' s life was in danger, s he immediately carried out emergency First Aid and then pla ce d him in the po s ition, dre ss ing his wound s before arranging for an ambulance to be called.
Gareth Lowe
When Gareth 's father sev ered an artery in an accident at their home, Gareth, of Townhill , Swan sea, immediately reali se d that situation was very se riou s and managed to c ontrol the bieeding by wrapping his father's wrist in a towel. Later in ho s pital , Mr Lowe received 12 s titches to a one and a half inch gash.
Ifan Miller and Nathan Grenter
Ifan and Nathan, both of Barry , South Glamorgan , employed their Firs Aid ski lls to great effect at Barry Boys Comprehensive School when they came acros s a fellow pupil who had been involved in an accident and was unconscio us and not breathing
Without he s itating the two boy s carried out emergency aid by clearing the airway upon which the casualty began to breathe. They then checked for a pulse and placed the pupil in the recovery position. They s tayed with him until a teacher and the ambulance service arrived.
,
,
Branch, S.l. New Zealand
Contact: Mr K Wat so n , 85, Cleghorn Street , Blenheim
S.L New Zealand
Regina Chapter, Saskatchewan, Canada
Conta c t : Mr E J Slater , 2625 - 3rd Avenue , Regina Saskatchewan S4T OC8 Canada , Wokingham , Berk s RG 11 4AS
Contact: Mrs F Gu s 45-11th Street , SE , Medicine Hat Alberta TlA lS2 Canada
The Hamilton Retired Fellowship Branch in New Zealand was formed in 1978 and has 45 members. They recently raised
$4050.00 towards the building of a new St. John HQ which wa s opened by the Governor-General of New Zealand in March.
'Medicine Hat Chapter in Alberta wa s also formed some time ago, in September 1992, but asked for the Chapter to be registered on St. John's Day, 1994.
Anyone requiring addional infonnation contact Shelia Puckle , Gen e ral Secretary , St. John Fellowship , St. John 's Gate , St. John 's Lane, ClerkenwelJ London ECIM 4DA.
AMBULANCESI WELFARE BUSES
re Fir s t A id
ur ses a re bei n
, w
ni
fo r fac to ri es e mpl oy in g large la b o ur fo rces.
St. J o hn in H o ng Kon g tr aces it s ro o ts bac k to 1884 , a nd is o n e o f th e o ld es t
vo lunt ar y age n c ies of its kind in th e a rea , pr ov idin g a m y ri a d of serv ices to th e co mmunit y.
Publi c F irs t A id duti es a re carr ie d o u r by a mbul a nce a nd nur s in g m emb e r s a nd th e
Em e rge n cy A mbul a n ce S e rvi ce is run by
St. J o hn a nd o p e ra tes 24 hours a d ay, 36 5 d ays a yea r
A numb e r of Firs t A id a nd Hom e
N ur s in g publi ca ti o ns h ave bee n tr a ns l a te d into C hin ese to complim e nt th e m a n y
publi c co ur ses run by St. J o hn H o n g K o n g.
Co ur s e s in c lud e Firs t A id a nd M o th e r a nd
Child H ea lth In 1990 , St. John Hon g Kon g
co ll a bo ra te d w ith R a d io T e l ev sio n H o n g
Kon g to pr o du ce a te lev is io n se ri es of te n e pi s od es on Firs t Aid.
Th e 'D e nt a l P e n e tr a ti o n Squ ad' ( th e
D e nt a l S ec tion of th e Bri ga de ) was f ann e d in 1950 to p rov id e free d e nt a c ar e to
fa rm e rs a nd f is he r-fo l k in o utl y in g di s tri c ts a nd is la nd s. Sin ce its in ce ption th e se rv
1994
n M arch a team from St John Av on consis ing of Peter Price amd Bob Stanley accompanied b y Robert Ru ss, a tutor f r om S t. John Ambulance in H ereford and Worces t e r tra velled to Accra in Ghana Both t raining cours es were b ase d at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hos pital in A ccra S tudent s we r e fr o m a mix of background s including S t John Brig a de , h ospital staff and mining staff from the goldfi e ld s. Some of the students had travelled hundreds of miles t o attend the course , oth e r s had lon g distances to cover e v ery da y This is indi c a t ive of the impor ta nce attached to t hese c e urses and how much t he y, a r e appre cia te d when students make so much effort to attend.
After upd ati n g th e cl ass o n th e lat es t Fi r st Ai d and res uscitatio n tec hn iqu es th e tra inin g C<:> Ufses c omm en ce d Th e te a m fo und th at s tudent s were ve ry keen to lea rn a nd unfam il iar teaching ·meth od s w e re ae cepted and ado]i>ted The se c ond c ourse ach i e v ed very h ig h s t aJil dard s The UK te am were very im pressed by excell ent !p re sentati on s and th e overall acco mplis hm e n ts sh ow n by st udents. AI'l imp ro mptu m eetiIrl!g t@f,) k p l ace a t wlilic h s ucoess ful formed a co m m itte e to e
quire d s o as to produoe a t least on e firs t ai d er in every hom e in the country.
12 St. John World
Mauritius T
erry Mankee a lJild Charles Symons from St. Joh n Ambulance Cornwall took to the high seas and swapped their native nautical environment for another, that being the island of Mauritius situated in the Indian Ocean. Mauritius is 1200 miles south of India and 800 miles east of Madagascar. The is an d ers are from a mixture of ethnic groups with Indian, African, Chinese and European influences; the main languages are F r enc h Creole a n d English.
As 1S necessary for a ll Train in g the Trainers co urses, the srandaJrd train ing fOTmat was adj u sted to meet loca l conditions and stip ul atio ns made by th e host country. S tu dents came from St. John and from t he Fire, Police , Airport and Educational sectors. The courses took place over a per iod of two weeks with each group attending sessio ns for two days per week. Hardy Jean-Pierre , the Commissioner req uested that a number of observers 'sit in' on courses to take advantage of th e information and new techniques being ta u ght.
An in du ctio n presentation of the F irst Aid at Work package was made as St. Jo hn exec u tives fe lt that the new syllabus and video was ideal for use on the is land. Mauritius enjoys full emp l oyme nt and has a strong ind ustrial base made-up from the agricultural, fishin g and man ufacturing ind ustries. T h e two UK trainers were invited to give a number of First Aid demonstrations and inspections. An exercise at a hote casino res ul ted in the manager agreeing to train all his staff thro u g h St. John Ambulance and the safety h azards pointed o ut by t he trainers were addressed immediate ly.
It was felt that t he twi n ning of Mauritius and Cornwall wi ll in the long term be extreme ly beneficia l both in the exchange of ski ll s and knowledge and a so for the deve lopment of a mut u al understanding of the different cultures and cond itions that exist in the two countries. A team from St. John Ambulance M auritius wi ll be visiting Cornwa ll in 1995 to ensure the conti nu ation of work and ac hi eveme nts from t hi s first visit.
I India
The purpose of particu lar Training the Trainers was to organise s ix courses in Delhi and Bangalore. Three UK teams from the Priory for Wale s, Greater Manch es ter and Warwick sh ire were se lected and deployed simultaneously.
St. Jo hn Ambu lance in India ws established nationa ll y in 19 15 On an operations leve l it work s in collaboration with the Indian Red Cross Society St. Jo h n Ambu lance concentrates on public d uties, Care in the Community and th e teac h ing of First Aid. More than ha f a mi ll ion cert ificates are awarded ann ua ll y by the De lh i HQ.
It wou ld be impossible to s ummarise the impressions and exper iences of all six trai ners who part icipated in this project, none of whom had previous ly visited India. However , the ge ne ral feedback from the teams s how ed how much they were impresse d by the dedication and commitment given by st u dents and organisers alike. Some of the comments made were:
"It was an amazing experience to have visited and worked with St. Jo h n members in I ndia. It wasn't until I returned to Wa es that I rea l ise d what I had gained. r cannot describe the transition in words but my wife noticed the change immediate ly ," said Keith Dunn , Chief Training Officer , Priory for Wales
" Both courses were very successful a nd Eleanor and I are very grateful to have been given the opport un ity to do such a wonderfu l job. It certainly w as an unforgettab le experience," said Janet Green, First Aid Tutor, SJA Gtr.Manch.
" T h e differences in re lig iou be l iefs and in language we re not seen as a problem because of the overwhelming desire to learn from each other whic h we undoubted ly did ," said Ann Sawyer , County Training Officer , SJA Warwickshire.
The Over seas Departm ent wo ul d like to th ank everyone w ho has participated in Training the Trainers. If your co unty is interested in und ertaking a training visit and wo u ld like to develop a twi n ning partnersh ip with an Overseas Branc h , please co n tact t he Overseas D epartment at NHQ thro ugh your County Office
HEATONS MOTOR COMPANY
We have a f i ne selection of Ex - Local Authority Frontline and Wheelchair accessible Minibuses in stock. We have probably the largest selection of used ambulances in the country with stock changing regularly We try our best to work within everybody ' s budgets , supplying all leading voluntary organisations throughout the country for over 15 years
Ou r re put ation i s our guarant ee. Pl ea s e ri n g for fri e ndly information a n d a d v c e. Fa mily Bus in e s s establ ished ov e r 25 years
Alcatraz is reportedly the most se<mre prison in the world.
Built on an island Gff New York, surrounded by shark infested waters and with barbed wire and steel fences, reminiscent of Nazi concentration camps, it claims to be inescapable. Few have tried to leave the infamous prison and even fewer have succeeded. The only people nowadays who even try to desert the super-secure structure are multimillionaire magicians like David Copperfield, who I hasten to add earn a fair few bucks in the process. But although it may be cliche, it ' s true - money talks. If you have enough bucks in the bank, you too can turn your home into a fortress. And there's the rub - security costs.
The range and scale of securit y sys tem s avail able is phenomen al, not to mention a sa d reflection on the modem day world. Wh ether you fancy two giant fle sh- ea tin g Doberm en or cl (')s ed circuit TV and VTR , or mayb e a sa fe and vault for the family heirloom s, you can hav e itprovided you'v e got a sta sh of cash a rge en ough to wallpaper you re liv ingroom with , if you re so indined. So how are our divisions copin g with the ever-in crea si ng risk of vandali sm and exactly what sort of se curity measure s do th ey employ ?
Raiders stripped an £8000 haul of office equipment from St. John Headquart ers in Bristol , earlier thi s year. Thi s wa s th e second raid in sevel:! weeks Smashing down three door s t(') gain acces s to tlile office , the offend ers grabbed a fax machine and three computers c(')ntaining all the record s and accoul'lts, before making their exit. It follow s a break-in in January when another computer wa s snatched Repairs to the Wood borou gh Street buildin g alone will co st £2000 not to mention the co s t of securing the building agains t further attack s.
Scunthorpe Headquarters boasted a 23 yea r vandalism-free period The Division al building had been on the same site for 26 years, and with the exception of the occa s ional brok en window considered them se lve s ver y secure
Unfortunately that record ended on 17 August 1992 with an arson attack The main lilall window wa s broken and an inflamm able material used to start a fire , which luckily burnt itself out eventl!lally - not before causing hundred s of pounds wo rth of damage. On 31
Augu st and 9 September 1992, two more arson attacks followed. On all three occa sion s the floor , curtains , chairs and buildin g stru c ture were damaged
Again in August 1993 , persons entered one of the storage cupboard s throl!lgh the outer wa ll.
They were unable to enter me FIiI ain part of the building because the cupboard door was locked and as they tried to force the door they jammed the lock, therefore denying themselves acce ss to the main part of the headquarters However , they
14 St. John World
did manage to get away with four Maxo n radi o hand sets with ch a rges and ex tension mi crophone s and al so a vid eo pl aye r. Th e cos t of repl ac in g th ese ite ms is hu ge and obv io usly
Di vision s aren t ve ry happ y about s pendin g publi c donati ons and di vis onal fund s on re pa irs cau sed by vand ali sm
Drug seekers are a ways a probl em for St. John Divi sion s On co untl ess occas ions,
Di visional buildin gs have bee n ransac ked in search of dru gs, des pi te pu bli c ann ounce me nt s th at we do not stock dru gs.
Wey mouth Divi s ion is ju t one of th e ma ny who have fa ll en victim to thi s fo rm of va nd a li sm Dru g-see kin g thi eves stol e li fesav in g ge ar and left blood stain es behind with th eir bee r bottles and sy rin ges durin g a ga rage raid on th e hea dqu art ers in Wes twey Roa d
The raiders eventu all y fl ed with a tw o-way radio with ae rial a se t of oxyge n bottl es, a re gul ator and a co nt ro l pa ck afte r tr ea tin g th emsel ves fo r bro ken g la ss cuts with th e ambulance' s First Aid kit. Ove r £2 500 da mage was cau sed
The costs of repl acin g th e broken do or a nd window s we re cov e red by the in sur ance, but th e replacement of oxyge n pac ks, th e tw o- way radi o and other items had to be me t by divi s ional fund s
Thi s s onl y th e second time th at Wey mouth Divi sion ha s bee n the vi ctim of vand ali sm, th e previou s time bein g te n yea rs ago wh e n an ambulance wa s stolen
Mark Clothi e r, Divi sion al Sup e rintendent says, " Weymouth is generally con sid ered a s leepy littl e town , so th es e sort of thin gs are ve ry unexpected Last year a detention centre was built next door to th e Divi s ional HQ and quit e a few people con sider thi s to be a contributory fact or."
At the tiflile of me break-in , tme Divi s ion had employed no security llilea SUqies otfuer than the tru sty lock and bolt. Since th en however , th e HQ ha s been demolished and is bein g repla ced with a new building on the same site. Thi s tim e
ho we ver it will be fi tte d with a full sec uri ty system Devon Co unt y Hea dqu arte rs is situated in a ward bloc k in th e grounds of a ment a l hos pital. On e wo uld be forg iven for thinkin g th at bea rin
1994 Medical Conference••• 1994 Medical Medicines, Medics and Medical Matters
The 1994 Medical Conference took place at the Nottingham University over the weekend of 22-24 April Among the delegates were the three winners of the 1994 Lady Moyra Browne Bursary Awards . Here , in brief, they offer their views on the annual gathering of the medicalIy-m inded.
"T he sess ion s a nd s peake rs were exe mplary in th e ir co ntent and delivery and I co uld hardly have expecte d mor e The to pi c a reas discussed were broad ra ng in g and co mpre he ns ive in th e ir sco pee se nti a l for a d e legate population that not only s p ann ed many me di ca l discipline but a lso professions.
up s a irs offi ces, a burglar alarm th e usual loc ks and bo lts and a ho t of out side li ght s to keep the buildin g we ll li ght and obv ous to th e pas er- by.
Howeve r out of ten co unti es co ntac ted fo r my traw poll Derby hire was the fi rst LO appear at all sec ur ity co n cio us. The othe rs re li ed in the ma in , o n th e lock and bo lt eav in g the rest to fate.
Sec urit y th erefore wo uld no appear to be th e foremos t thin g on o ur memb e rs' mind s Wh en qu es ti oned , mos t peo pl e sa id thi s was beca use of th e hi gh cos t of in ta Ilin g burglar- proof sys tems. Howeve r, one ge ntle ma n, when questio ned as to why sec urit y had bee n g ive n 0 littl e th ought, related th e fo ll ow in g , "Yea rs ago, we co ul d go out and leave our doo rs unl ocke d and unb olted. Nowa day we' re afra id to eave our house on our ow n durin g th e day , far less at ni ght. Wh y should we liv e in fea r day and ni ght ju st because th ese ho oli gans think va nd a li s ing and stea lin g prop e rt y is a reaso nabl e way to pe nd an evenin g. If we adopt th at att itud e th ey are winnin g. "
Arguabl y a fair enough co mm ent , bu t it do es n t solve th e probl e m or remove th e need for in c reased sec urity meas ures. Th ere are l'h ousand s of sec urity firm s in the Unit e€! Kin gdom , not a ll of whom ch arge outrage ou s pri ces, som e even visit your property and surv e y it fr ee of charge before recomm e ndin g a sec urit y system
At the e nd of th e da y, we are th e lose rs if we cho se to ignore the obvi o us. If it 's eas il y access ible and poorly g uarded, it is a target for vand als. A good security system is the onl y answer, umless of course you fa ncy movin g to an island off Ne w York and buildi mg your HQ 011 an is land in shark-infes ted wate rs
"See in g ma ny speake r from within the ranks of St. John interspersed with first ra te ex terna l s peakers, gave me a fee lin g of prid e in th e o rga ni sa ti o n. The in-h o use s peak e rs demonstrated ye t aga in that St. John is a t the forefront of First Aid care. Th e plannin g and timing of eac h of th e sess io ns he lp e d th e d ay to flow ; a nd the sess io n " C h a in of Survival" tracing th e cas ua lti es from Fir Aid through Adva nced Life Support, the Inten s ive Care Unit a nd eve ntu a ll y Rehabilitation su mm ed up th e exce ll e nt inter- profe s s iona l re la ti o n hip s SI. John see ms to foste r be twee n it s nurses and doctors.
" A balanced mi x of med cs, nurses a nd lay delegate offere d a up e rb gro undin g for the man y in fo rnlal qu es tion sess io ns after eac h speake r. The co mm e rc ia l displays o uts id e th e co nfe re nce hall showed once aga in the ime res t comme rci a l operations have in su pp o rtin g th e wo rk of SL. J o hn Ambulance.
"Th e hi g hli g ht of the audio-visuals a id s mu s t have been th e Staffordshire Ambulance Service's Cas ua ty Cl earin g Station. A tr ul y magnifice nt st ru ct ur e of inflatable building and ve hi cle offer in g a mini- cas ua lt y department on a mountain s id e! All delegates spe nt a n inte res tin g few minut es discLlssing th e sco pe of suc h a s tru ct ure w ith th e ee min g ly e ndle ss s uppl y of a mbul a nc e personnel who e min a ted from th e building."
Lore nz o Visentin R .N Di vis ional Nursing Officer Wolverhampton
"Th e seco nd lec tur e was a bout H.I.V and other Blood Born e Viru ses. Thi is a ve ry re leva nt s ubj ect to Fir Aid e rs in th e field as th ey are the o nes wh o co me into contact with st ran ge rs whose tate of hea lth can ometimes be qu es tion a ble How eve r, I do wi s h that th e Conference ha d addresssed th e iss ue of Cadets and th e ri sk th a t they can in c ur o n dut y.
" I , my e lf, ha ve two bo ys, who a re both Cadet and go on publi c duties with the Adult Divi s ion. [t see ms that we prot ect adult by advi s in g th e m to be up -to-date with T.Tox and H e p. B vaccination, but as far as I am awa re no me ntion is ma de for Cadets and after all the se Cadets a re tomorrow 's adu lt membe rs. I am so mewhat co nc e rned 0 sa y the lea t."
Pat Butcher' R.C.N
D.N.O Stamford Combined Division Lincolnshire
19 94
August 7994
" W o rkin g in a hos pice nursi ng those who are H I. V positive , I was pleased to hear Dr Zideman ec ho thou g h ts a nd opinions th a t I hold. He was so e nthu s ias ti c a nd o bviou sly e njoys hi s wo rk Hi s e ne rgy was co nta g io us
" Saturd ay afte rno o n s pre entation s followed the same high s tand a rd , tak in g us throu g h client care fro m the pre-hospital s tage to rehabilitation. " I certa inl y ga in ed kno w ledge and profe s ion a l ski Jl s which w ill be of LI se o me both in my professional rol e in the ho spice a nd m y work in St. John."
Elaine Clarke R.C.N Bedfordshire
Ph o t ographs top to bottom
SlIpplies really kn ow h ow to e llj oy themselves - th ey are a ways in the ma rk et fo r a good J"O I e -u p
St. J o hll is a lways keen fO frain absolutely el'e r),one and anyone in res ll sc itati o n t ec hniqu es - i t' s n o t ju st limit ed fO members of th e Pllbli c Whell blldgets a r e ti g ht th e medically minded s ll gges t yo u swop r ep li cosfo r th e r ea l tilin g!
St. John World 15
It is the single, biggest cause of physical disability in the United Kingdom. It affects
10 million men and women including one million under 45 years old, and 15,000 children.
St. John World takes a look at the effects of on both young and old.
One in four visits to the doctor concerns arthritis and rheumati s m
Contrary to what a lot of people think, athritis is not just a disease of cold age. While it is true that the incidence of arthritis is higher in older people, it is by no means confined to this age group. Ageing brings about changes in the joints of the body and as a result elderly people are more susceptible to diseases of thi s nature. However, there are different types of arthritis which affect people of differing age groups, and also different sexes.
Arthritis is inflammation or disease of, or damage to, the joints of the body. There are many different types of arthritis, but all of them affect a joint or joints in some way. Rheumatism on the other hand , is a more general term, describing any sort of pain in the bone s, muscles or joints. As a result it covers many different condition s.
Scientists are still uncertain of the causes of arthritis and the need for additional research into this area is great. They do however know, tmat the causes are not simple. Links have been established with climate and diet. But people living in warm, humid environments develop arthritis as well , so this is by no means the cause, merely a conliributory factor. Certain foods appear to worsen arthritis , but again there is no indication that diet is a cause.
Research is needed inte areas such as genetics, trigger infections, auto-immunity and inflammation which promises to give us a much better understanding of arthritis - how it can be treated and perhap s, how it Ga n be prevented
The effects of arthritis vary enormously. How you are affected will depend on the type of arthritis you have, how badly you have it, how long it goes on, and how YOI!l respond to treatment. Also, like
16 St. Jotm World
so many conditions, arthritis is very individu alist ic. Diffe rent peo ple are affected in different way s - even if they have the sa me kind of arthr it is and very s im ilar sy mptoms
For some people arthritis goes on for many years. For others it la s ts for some month s or year s and tFien gets better, either on it s Own or as a result of treatment. Most types of arthritis do not cau se seve re di sa bility. Rheumatoid arthriti s is the type mo st likely to cause problems, but s till on ly to per cent of people who have rheumatoid arthritis become severely di abled.
For most peopl e, arthritis causes di sco mfort, pain , stiffness - and a lot of difficulty and frustration. It can be di sabling - that is, it can make movement diffi c ult or can cause oss of movement in the joints. This can be hard to accept, especially if you've a lways le d a very active life, but adapting to changes in different areas can ensure you continue to lead a 'norm a l life. The pain arthritis ca n cause is very unpredictable and a lot of people find the pain harder to cope with than the los s of movement.
Co 'In 'In 0 n, Types of Arlbri#is
Osteoarthritis and osteoarthro is are differ e nt names for the same di sease. Osteoarthritis u s ually develops gradually, over several years. Sometime s it gets suddenly worse, but thi i far le ss us ual.
The cartilage covering the bone in the joint becomes worn and rough. The bone undern eat h thi cke ns and spreads out. Bony 'outgrowth s' form at the outer edges of the joint making it look knobbly. The synovial membranes and the cap ule also thicken and become a bit inflamed The joint becomes stiff and painful to move.
If the osteoarthritis worsens, the cartillage may become badl y worn away. The bones then begin to rub against each other and the ligaments become strained and weakened. This causes a lot of pain and the shape of the joint is changed.
Osteoarthritis is most common in knee s, hips, feet and hand s. it can also affect the neck and lower back Usually a number of joint s are affected, but if the osteoarthritis follows an injury, it may affect the injured joint only.
O s teoarthritis is very variable. Some people have it only mildly. For others, whose joints are badly damaged, it can be painful and di sa bling. But osteoarthritis does not make you feel ill , its effects are limited so ely to the joints.
Treatments - Osteoarthritis is helped by reducing stress on joints
Phy sio therapy can s trengthen the mu sc les which support the joints.
People who are overweight need to lose some weight to take strain off their joints. In general, it helps to keep as fit and active as po ss ible , exercising the muscles and joint s - but also re s ting them.
Drugs can be used to relieve pain. When there is bad damage to the joints, surgery (such as a hip replacement) may be s uggested.
Rbe"'lnQ,#oid
A.rlbri#is
This is an inflammatory disease, which in very extreme cases can lead to severe disability. In most diseases inflammation serves a purpose by helping healing , and when healing is done, the inflammation goes away. But in rheumatoid arthritis, the opposite happens. The inflammation causes damage - and it can go on and on.
It is known that 'auto-imm uni ty' is part of the problem in rheumatoid art hriti s. That is the body's natural defence system is somehow put into reverse and attacks the body instead of protecting It. But it is not known what causes the auto-immunity in the first place, or whether it is a cause, or a resl!lit, of the arthritis.
become s inflammed Thi s make s the joint stiff and painful and it may swelL For many the di sease goes no further. For others, the inflammation co ntinues Fluid and cells leak out of the inflamed m e mbrane and be gi n to wear away the cartilage. The membrane it se lf becomes thicker and sp read s into the joint. Eventually , the bone beneath the cartilage may begin to wear away. The whole joint, and, the tendons and ligament s which hold the joint tog e ther may become weakened, damaged and very changed in shape.
Rheumatoid arthritis usuall y s tart s in the wrists, hand s or feet. If it continues, it can s pread to other joints. It affects everyone in a different way. Becau se the disease ha s active and inactive phases, its effects depend a lot on how bad, how frequent and how long the active phases are. Obviously , the more active it is, the more damage is done to the joint s But at the sta rt there is no way of telling how the disease is going to pro gress.
Out of every 100 people who get rheumatoid arthritis , about 30 recover almost completely within a few years ; about 60 continue to have flare-ups of the disease, with some pain and difficulty and a ce rtain amount of joint damage. In about 10 people out of the 100, the di sease becomes seve re and eventually causes di sability
Arlbri#is
Cbildren,
About 12,000 children in the UK have some kind of arthritis. Most kind s of childhood arthriti s come under the general heading of juvenile chronic arthritis'. This invo lves inflammation, pain and sw elling in one or more joints The most common kind, called pauci-articular arthrits, affects a few joints , usually starts at about the age of two or three , and continues for several years. A child with this sort of arthritis doesn't usually become unwell: the problem is more or less limited to the swollen, painful joints. But eye problems are quite common, and regular eye checks are needed.
Another kind of juvenile chronic arthritis, polyarthritis affects many joints. It can start at any age from a few months onwards, and usually spreads from one joint to another quite quickly - within months. Sometimes children with polyarthritis are also generally unwell , with a fever and perhaps a rash.
Still's di sease named after the doctor who first identified it, is the third main kind of childhood arthritis. It causes not just inflamed joints' but also fever, rashes and other problems. It mainly affects children under five years old.
The outlook for children with arthritis is good. After some years (during which the disease may come and go), the majority of children get better and grow up to lead perfectly normal live s. In a minority , there is joint damage And some children do not grow to their normal height. But the risk of such long-term problems can be cut down by treatment and careful management of the disease. It's important to make the most of professional support and advice.
Treatment fOT children with arthritis is usually much the same as for adults, but the problems which crop up in everyday life can be different. Children with arthritis need to lead as normal and full a life as possible. In addition to treatment, it is important to find every way possible to overcome difficulties, keep schooling and social life going, and find alternative activities. Exercise is especially helpful and a lot of children benefit enormously from swimmi ng
1994
Rheumatoid arthritis sometimes starts quite sudden ly , but more often the symptoms develop gradua lly over a fe w weeks months or eVen years. The synovial membrane, which lines the joint cavity, August 7994
Most of all it is often family support and understanding that is the crucial factor in coming to terms with arthritis, and this link sho uld not be forgotten or underestimated. Anyone requiring additional information should contact: Arthritis Care , 18 Stephenson Way , London NWI 2HD, who provide a wide range of leaflets and information on the various types of arthritis and support groups concerned with the condition.
St. John World 17
Nurse Training in dERUSALEM
In the third and final part of her series on the St. John Ophthalmic Hospital, Marilyn Hunter RGN, OND , takes a look at nurse training at the hospital.
Part of my work in Jerusalem was taken up with assisting Mary Manarious and her team in the teaching of Student Nurses at the Hospital. Sister Mary had told the students that a Tutor from England was coming and they were keen to meet me and have some theoretical and clinical sessions with me. We thought my approach to teaching may be different and that the students would benefit from having a 'new face' around the School. As a Health Studies Lecturer I am used to teaching young people from 16+ and I did not anticipate any problems with the student nurses, in fact I looked forward to the experience.
T he students in the School undertake two year s training for the Jordani a n Pya c tical Nurse Certificate. Thi s con s is ts of Hs month s tr a ining in General Nurs ing s uch as Medicine , Surgery Midwifery , Paediatric s and Pharmacology and s ix months Ophthalmic s. The general el e ment of the training take s place in variou s satellite ho s pitals in and around Jeru s a lem and the Ophthalmic element at the St. John Hospit a l.
The Sc hool had 19 s tudent s from all over IS 1fael and they were a m even mix of males and female s and different religion s. Mo st were Mu s lim and s ome were Christian s The School is unique becau se it is the only Nurs e Training School which offers training to both males and female s and the for place s in th e School i s very high. A lot of the student s were ex-university st udents who cOl!l d no lOli\ger cOlilti nue edllicatiGlf,) d l!l e to the political situation.
Funding for training comes from the Hospital. Accomodation in the hospital is
provid ed if needed and the s tud e nt s are pan ored for book , livin g ex pe n es and pock e t money ', so methin g other student nur es don' t ge t. In fact St. John is the only School of Nursing who actually 'pay' the student fo r training in others, the s tud e nt s pay the Ho pital for train i ng them! The pan orship co me s from St. John counties, individual s and organisations within St. John ie The Fellowship. The s tudents are extremely grateful to their s pon sor s and proudly wear th e sponsoring county 's emblem on their unifornl. They also try to keep in touch with them , offering progres s report s on their training Thi s is actively encouraged by Sister Mary , who recognises how vital this cOT1tact is.
I found the s tudents enthusiastic and very keen. They tudy hard and have a very high standard of knowledge I was very impressed with their commitment and dedication to learning as much as possible in preparation for their final examinations which are taken in a mixture of Arabic and English. I taught my classes in English and the other tutors taught in a mixture of Arabic and English.
One of the Hospitals I visited was the Red Crescent Hospital run by the International Red Cross. This was a tiny, dilapidated 24 bed Hospital for Gynaecology and Obstetrics which had two Special-care baby cots and a Maternity Unit. The hospital also cared for babies
August 1994
staff.
Another practical training placement is the Holy Family (Order of Malta) Hospital. Thi s is a General Hospital and deal s with Surgery Medicine and Maternity patients. Hyam (another tutor) and I accompanied a group of s tudents to the ho spital for clinical experience. I took a male s tudent , Jamile , into the Maternity Ward s and began to exp lain the stages of labour and delivery to him when we di scovered a young girl in the Labour Ward almost ready to give birth , without the be nefit of analgesia. As the labour progresse d I explained each stage to Iamile and we were able to witness the normal delivery of a healthy baby girl. Unfortunately the young mother was not so pleased as she had wanted her first born to be a so n. There is great pres s ure on the woman to produce so ns , hence the large families.
with congenital abnormalities, mo s t of have a s hort life expectancy. I saw a three day old baby girl with a leaking encephalocele and multiple internal abnormalities who was dying. It was di s tre ss ing for us but the baby was in no pain and was just bein g kept comfortable.
On our return to the Hospital , I helped mark the first year examination paper covering topic s such as Medicine/Surgery Nutrition , Pharmacology and Ob s tetrics. I was impressed w ith the knowledge shown and we were plea sed with the result s.
Later the same day , I accompanied Sister Mary to the Hada ss ah Hospital to meet the Matron The Hospital is very modem with all the latest technology , its coronary care unit of five beds is superb. The hospital has over 700 beds and is a training school for female Muslem students.
One of the training placements the students use is the Caratas Mother and Baby Hospital for Maternity and Obstetrics plus children's wards and special care baby unit. The tudents work in all the ward s experiencing a great variety of conditions, especially in the children. Many of them have congenital syndromes which are extremely rare and not seen anywhere else in the world Commoner conditions such as Gastro-Enteritis are dealt with frequently and some of the babies die despite first class care from the medical and nursing
On returning to the School of Nursing the ne xt day we found that money had been donated to upgrade the School s library and to in s tall s tudy facilities. All the books and equipment in the library had to be moved and the s tudents were enlisted to help. This they did gladly and we piled all the books onto a theatre trolley and took them into another room. The work was completed within a few weeks and I now understand they have an excellent library and study centre.
The purpose of training nurses from as wide an area as possible is so that they can return to their homes and become involved in Prinlary Health Care for their local population and , in thi s way, be able to contribute to the health of their fellow citizens. ot all of the newly qualified Licensed Practical urses do return home , some stay on at the Ho s pital and a few are lucky enough to find sponsorship through St. John to continue their training in the UK or USA. The majority then retum to Israel and work for their local health authority, becoming Health Visitors , Midwives and Nurses Tutors. Some return to Jerusalem to help train the next generation of St. John nurses.
The training at St. John has an excellent reputation due to the hard work and commitment of Sister Mary and her team. They continue to perpetuate the motto of the Order " In the Service of Mankind " in a very real way. They can be justly proud of its reputation as a first class training school. I know Sister Mary has plans for the future of the School and I wish her the best of l uck in securing and the future of nurse training at the Hospital.
I was proud to be able to contribute to the work of the Hospital in this and other ways and I would dearly love to return in the next few years.
St. John W o rld 19
for people with disabilities
"lVhen
he is tired of
. .. "
(9)
2. Hea rt of im ag in ary spiri t. (3)
3. Appeal fo r sil ence in part of eg. (4)
4. Military in ell igence hav in g grant for seaso nal v sito r. (7)
5 One change in line fo r facia fea tures of lep rosy. (7)
6 Mart er of brains. (4)
7. Pre-o perati ve pro ced ur e from th e Asian Sea. ( I I)
8 Mi x t with mud to make swo ll en (5)
12. Sofl rea of in fants head ( II )
15 Name fo r end of norm al pregnancy. (4) l 8. Unu sual as ociati on of arti st and engin ee r. (4)
19. Acquired immuni ty to effec s of norm al do ses of a dru g. (9)
2 1 Deve loper of new dru g and di spense r of es tablis hed dru gs. (7)
22. lt s ca e prese nt s as fr ee fluid in he peri to nea sac. (7)
23. Un ust ac ti on s err oneo us (5)
26. A co nt ainer not quit e closed (4)
27. He has reco
and Divisional News
Do You Ma
1. What is a hernia?
the radial carotid and 3. Where are brachial pulses found? _----
12 Syncope is a brief loss of consciousness causfZd by a tempora ry red u ctio n o f b loliJd f ow to t he bra n. What is t his more common ly know as?
24 St. John World
Skin surface L . ;v:
the terms d descnbe es of fracture an t hese three typ Name I· d to them apple
The Appliance of Science
New keyhole surgery for hy s terectomie offer women a le ss traumatic operation, minimal carring and a fa s ter recovery time. Over 73,000 hy s terectomie s are carried out in Britain every year , usually by mean s of a traditional abdominal operation. Afterwards, the patient is kept in ho sp it a l for a week, need s a further ix to eight week of r ecove ry and is left with a 12cm sca r. Now, however , gy naecologists at St. Thoma ' Ho spital are being train ed in lap arocopic (keyhole) hysterectomy With this new s urgery, patient s can usually go home after two day s, be back at work after two weeks and are left with only a tiny lcm scar. Shanti Raju of St. Thoma s' Gynaecology D epart m e nt s tressed , " Patient s s hould be made more aware of the availability of laparoscopic hysterectomy. It ca n speed up recovery considera bly , enabling women to continue their everyday activities sooner. "
A Flexible Friend
9. Name the three stages of childbirth/labour.
in 'ected into the 11 What hormone IS J the effects of . bloodstream to reverse hy /actic shock? anap August 1994
Asthmatics may soon be turning to osteopathy for rei ief. According to a recent report in GP , some a thmatics , particularly those with severe and poorly controlled a thma , can see a s ignificant improvement after treatment. " Osteopathy works on the mechanic s of the thorax , stretc h ing the muscl es and loosening the joints ," says lohnathan Curtis-Lake of the British School of Osteopathy. While the treatment doe n't cure the problem , by making the rib cage more flexible it can improve the patient's quality of life and make an attack easier to cope Anyone interested in obtaining further
information should contact: The BSG , 1-4 Suffolk Street , London SWIY 4HG.
Smoking Mothers
Confirming that smoking and motherhood do not mix , the Health Education Authority have found through research , that not only is the incidence of miscarriage increa ed in a s moking mother (by 27 per cent) but that her future daughters will also inherit the ri s k, even though they may not smoke themselve s .
It has long been known that smoking during pregnancy (and in the presence of young children) affects the hea lth of both mother and baby, yet one-in-three pregnant women still smoke.
Pregnant smokers' c h ance of sti ll birth is increased by a third ,
babies are born smaller and more prone to infant sickness the incidence of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is increased and male children are more likely to have genital abnormalities. Smoking mothers experience more problem s during pregnancy too with increases in headache , backache nausea , vomiting, diarrhoea and bleeding
If you are a smoker and thinking of becoming pregnant , counselling and advice on giving up cigarettes is available from your GP , midwife or pharmacist.
Yo u Know
1. A hernia or
2 Straighten t he casua ty's knee by raising the leg For cramp in the front of the thigh, bend the knee In each case, massage the muscle firmly with your fingers.
3. The wrist, neck and upper arm
4 A collapsed lung
5 To make the casualty comfortable to bring down the fever and to seek medical aid, if necessary
6. A simple fracture - A clean break or a crack in the bone
A comminuted fracture - A fracture with multiple bone fragments.
A green stick fracture - A split in a young, immature bone, common in children
7 These are injuries which affect the ligaments and the muscles
8. If a fractured limb is bent or angled so that you cannot immobilise it you would apply traction to gently pull it straight.
9 First stage - Dilation of the neck of the womb Second stage - Descent of the baby from the womb to the vaginal entrance and delivery Third stage - Delivery of the afterbirth
10 This is the name given to a massive allergic reaction within the body. It is a serious, potentially fatal condition that may develop, in senstive indivuals within a few seconds or minutes of: the injection of a particular drug; the sting of a particular in sect or the ingestion of a particular insect.
11 Adrenaline.
12 A faint.
The Brigae
St Paul and St John once again unite, re-affirm vows, all evil to fight , St . Paul for the gospel , St. Johnfor the care, of the si c k and the wounded e v erywhere.
From Scotland and Wales, from over the seas , from village and hamlet from Stockton-on-Tees, come those who have heard and heeded the caLL , gatheredfor worship , neath old London Wall.
Knights ' of The Order accompanied by Dames , Lords and their Ladies with high sounding names , Standards and bearers and let's not forget the humble member with his y oung Cadet
Dear Edi tor , I would like to th ank Dr Macphie for hi s s tatement rega rding NHS paramedic s, nurse s and advanced s kill s. As the NHS repre sents on y a s mall group of paramedic s that are trained and employed would it be pos s ib le to qualify the re s one way or another.
We are rapidly approachi ng the year 2000 and yet we appear to be at a level more akin to the 19th Century than the 21 st. Now hat the NHS use s mo s tly paramedic crew s, event organi sers are starting to demand the same from vo luntary organi sation s. A local voluntary organi sation has acquired a second semi-automatic defibrillator while we are prevented acquiring our fir s t.
At our lo c al GP circu t we used to be the backbone of the meet ings. Now we are re s tri c ted to attending to the crowd , while a private ambulance compan y provide s paramedi c cover f or the racers. It will take s trong le aders hip to en s ure that we meet the public 's demand for safety with trained crew s and event cover.
Whil s t accepting t hat the NHS train s it s s taff to a high level , there are big difference s in that training in different geographi c al area s I find it in s ulting that af ter serving in the RAMC including the Gulf War th at I am not allowed to use m y advanced s kill s. I am regi s te red with Paramedic s U K (the only independent re g is ter ) but St. John s t ill refu ses to ac knowledge m y prior training and skills Why ?
Yo urs f a ithfully
C. A Hurw oo d EMT, CMT, I OTA De rby
Dear Edit or , I accompani e d a friend of mine to Croydon on Saturd ay 2 Jul y, to a ttend the Bri g ade Fi na ls Competition for the fir s t tim e. I mu s t admit at the outset I wa s s lightl y dubiou s about atte nding ,
We are a small , family -run hotel with ampl e private car parking , situated directly oppo site The Harrogate Confer ence Centre
Their batteries recharged , a gift from the Lord , Standards refurled and the finery stored To home they return , a thought they all share, " Where-ever we ' re needed , we will be there"
Written by Mr V Ralph
Dea r Ed itor , I wa s a t St. Pa ul' s on Saturda y 25 J une and took a friend with me He wa s very impre ss ed with what he saw and thoroughl y enjo yed the Service
f\s a re s ult he wrote the followin g poem which I hope you will enjoy
Yo urs f a ithfU lly
M rs D orothy Co lb ert P ete rb or o ug h St J ohn Fe llowship
