Royalty launch for new St John Centre
Thursday, 19 May, 2011
A St John Wales centre housing 20 ambulances and a new division teaching lifesaving skills to the people of Fairwater has been officially opened by HRH the Duke of Gloucester.
The country's leading first aid charity received £900,000 of Assembly Government funding to allow it to keep all of its Cardiff vehicles under one roof at the secure premises in Norbury Road, Fairwater. St John Wales has also contributed £160,000 of its own funds to the purchase and upgrade of the building.
The funding was announced by Wales' former Health Minister Edwina Hart AM, who described St John as "a highly regarded and important charity in Wales."
After opening the new centre on May 14, The Duke of Gloucester, who is Grand Prior of the Order of St John, went to Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff to officially install the charity's new Prior, Dan Clayton-Jones OBE, as well as promoting and investing 40 other exceptional St John members and supporters.
Currently some of the charity's own Patient Transport Service (PTS) vehicles and other vehicles including ambulances are stored at various locations across the city which leaves them at risk of vandalism. The new safe and secure site at Norbury Road will house patient transport ambulances, Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust vehicles and vehicles for St John Wales volunteers, including ambulance motorbikes.
It will be the new home to a St John Wales Volunteer Division for young people aged between six and 18 years from the Fairwater area. Training in vital lifesaving skills will be available to these youngsters who can then become volunteers for St John Wales. The wider community will also be able to be trained in first aid skills by St John volunteers at the centre.
Additionally, NHS paramedics working in South East Wales will also be using the centre as a training facility, specifically for CPD (Continued Personal Development) training.
The site is centrally-located being close to the A48, M4 and the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff.
Keith Dunn, Chief Executive of St John Wales said: "For some time it has been our ambition to have a multifaceted facility which caters for the needs of the charity as a whole. St John is increasingly being asked to do more and more to serve the community, be it attending public duties or teaching lifesaving skills to thousands of people across Wales.
"We're delighted that the Welsh Assembly Government has been able to assist us greatly in the funding of this facility which has enabled us to continue our close working relationship with the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust."
If you would like to become a member of the Fairwater Division, please contact Divisional Officer in Charge Keith Davies on 01443 207601 or email Keith.Karolyn2@btinternet.com.
If you would like to find out more about St John Wales's Patient Transport Service, call 0845 644 2546 or visit
www.stjohnwales.co.uk/transfer
