Stephen Morgan MP thanks St John Ambulance for providing lifesaving first aid services in Portsmouth

Stephen visited the first aid charity’s Portsmouth unit to discuss the role of local volunteers in the community, the first aid services they provide and opportunities to support the unit’s lifesaving work as it celebrates over 125 years of service to the city of Portsmouth. During his visit, volunteers provided an overview of St John's operations in the city and discussed the unit’s work to enhance first aid resilience. 

Volunteers delivered a demonstration of a full resuscitation scenario and training on using a defibrillator. Today in the UK, 30,000 people experience an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) every year, yet less than 1 in 10 people survive. To improve survival rates, St John Ambulance has launched its "Save a Life September" campaign which aims to train over 50,000 members of the public in lifesaving first aid skills which can more than double the chances of survival. A session is taking place in Portsmouth on 30 September, 7.30pm-9pm, at the St John Ambulance HQ, Fairfield House, 47-51 Kingston Crescent.

The charity is also calling on guardians of defibrillators in communities to register their devices on The Circuit: The Nation’s National Defibrillator Network to enable ambulance services to locate defibrillators in an emergency.

During his visit, Stephen was briefed on the unit’s latest projects which include providing first aid cover at Portsmouth Football Club, festivals and community events as well as providing surge capacity to South Central Ambulance Service as the Nation’s Ambulance Auxiliary.

As Minister for Early Education, Stephen was informed about the unit’s youth programmes including St John Ambulance’s Badger (5-10-year-olds) and Cadet programmes (10-17-year-olds) and the role they play in developing the next generation of health professionals. In 2023, Cadets delivered 56,600 hours in support of event first aid operations. This reflects the charity’s ambition to ensure every young person to be first aid confident by the age of 25. 

St John trains over 215,000 people in first aid every year and volunteers provided first aid cover at 8,500 events in 2023 enabling thousands of events to happen safely. St John volunteers in Portsmouth play their part in enhancing community first aid resilience by providing first aid training, supporting local events and providing ambulance crews to deliver emergency support to the NHS.

Stephen Morgan, MP for Portsmouth South, said:

“I would like to thank volunteers from St John Ambulance for inviting me to learn more about their lifesaving work in Portsmouth. I was pleased to see the first aid services they provide and the role volunteers play in supporting the NHS and local communities.

“We have all seen them ready to provide first aid cover at events across Portsmouth. I was interested to hear about the unit’s desire to grow the number of volunteers and opportunities for young people to develop the next generation of lifesavers.

“We know when it comes to cardiac arrests every second counts. That’s why it’s vital we train more people in first aid to respond to health emergencies and register defibrillators on the Circuit to boost the chances of survival.

“I encourage residents across Portsmouth to get involved with St John Ambulance’s work and take part in Save a Life September to keep our communities safe and help save lives.”

Wendy McCormick, Unit Manager at St John Ambulance, said:

“We were delighted to welcome Stephen Morgan MP to our Portsmouth unit. At St John, we are best known for our presence at events and providing first aid courses, but we offer so much more than this. Visits such as this give valuable publicity and encourage more people to support our lifesaving work.

"Right now, we are actively recruiting for Youth Leaders. The youth and adults are an integral part of the life of the community in Portsmouth. We encourage people of all ages to get involved and help save lives.”  

Kit Bowerin, St John's Policy & Public Affairs Officer, said:

 “I would like to congratulate our incredible volunteers in Portsmouth for everything they do in serve their local community and enhance first aid resilience across Hampshire.

“It was a pleasure to welcome Education Minister Stephen Morgan MP to our Portsmouth unit. At St John, we believe Community First aid Saves Lives, that’s why we are looking at how we can respond, educate and lead standards in community first aid.

"We look forward to working with him and the UK Government to ensure every young person has the opportunity to learn first aid skills to improve health outcomes and save lives”.

To find out more about St John Ambulance’s clinically trained volunteers and their work please visit www.sja.org.uk or contact [email protected].