St John Ambulance SA Inc. Annual Report 2019-2020

33

St John Ambulance Australia SA Inc Annual Report 2019/20

TRAINING SERVICES CHAIR’S REPORT

Commercial training

the Instructor Resource and Information Site. The site provides an accessible and up-to-date source of truth for Education matters relating to St John membership. Within just three months the site grew from an Instructor site to incorporate information for all St John internal learners. To further the streamlining of information relating to Education for members, June 2020 saw the launch of OSCAR (Organisational Site Competency and Achievement Resources). OSCAR provides an e-Learning training menu that is customised to each role within the organisation, with the option for the member to choose additional learning in their areas of interest. The system provides a central location to access e-Learning opportunities and provides an alternate learning experience to complement the ongoing work of Divisional Instructors, Education and Training Quality (ETQ), and other internal organisational training. With increased visibility and traceability of training records (including automated reminders), members will have an improved learner experience. As the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the Virtual Training Centre was able to provide additional ongoing learning and engagement for members by hosting a number of webinars run by members and Adelaide Central Division. Throughout the year, the centre was also used to run multiple commercial webinars and has allowed St John SA to explore alternate learning opportunities for our members and clients to improve accessibility and diversity of our training. The last financial year also saw the re-introduction of the Advanced Event Medic Program after many years of hiatus, in addition to the continuation of the Event Responder and Event Medic Programs, and the delivery of two to three CPD sessions per week at divisions. This program was delivered by volunteer paramedics in conjunction with ETQ and provided another learning pathway for members to aspire to. The program trialled a new style of delivery, with a combination of self-paced learning and intensive practical workshop to consolidate learning. The experience was valuable for the facilitators and members alike, and new programs are on the horizon to continue the development of members. The Certificate IV in Leadership and Management * ran again in 2019, with the Emerging Leaders Symposium continuing for its second year in conjunction with the program. Nine members attended the program, and with 100% completion rate, the commitment these members have to the organisation is evident. ETQ have continued to support trainer development in commercial and operational fields through the development of resources and new programs, including sessions in trauma response, mental health, and vocational training upskilling. The past 12 months have seen the introduction of many exciting initiatives, and the direction of Education has shifted within St John. I look forward to seeing further developments in this area in the

coming year.

Community services

The impacts of COVID-19 in the second half of the financial year significantly reduced the volume of first aid training we were able to offer, as well as class sizes due to social distancing guidelines. Individual infection control pre-packs were given to all training participants and the training rooms were marked out to allocate each participant’s space in line with government guidelines. These measures ensured the safety of both our training participants, as well as our First Aid Trainers. St John has always upheld the highest standards of hygiene and infection control practices, which only increased in response to COVID-19. Innovative online training solutions and individual in-person assessment centres were also established to minimise contact and time out of the office or away from home for those that needed to complete first aid qualifications during the peak of COVID-19 limitations. Various online course delivery methods were trialled and proved to be a popular option for people seeking to fulfil their first aid training requirements. During this time, our commercial teams also worked collaboratively with the Metropolitan First Service, SA Power Networks and the Department of Correctional Services, to name a few, to provide modified training to meet their needs. Well done to the teams involved in pulling together these online and modified course resources in such a timely manner. I would also like to extend my sincere thanks to all the trainers that continued to deliver quality first aid education during a challenging and uncertain time. It was encouraging to see the demand for traditional classroom first aid training begin to increase towards the end of the financial year as the COVID-19 situation improved in South Australia and government restrictions eased. We noticed a significant increase in consumer confidence around attending in-person first aid training to the extent that we struggled to keep up with the demand for training. Courses are booked well into the remainder of the year as people catch up on training they had otherwise deferred earlier in the year. Another catalyst for increased first aid course demand has been the ongoing redemption of first aid course prizes from the 2019 St John Christmas Home Lottery. It has been fantastic to see the uptake of these courses and the far-reaching impact these first aid skills will have in the community. As a result of the greater demand for first aid training, we have increased the number of public courses available and have an active trainer recruitment drive underway to meet public demand.

During what has been a rollercoaster year for everyone, I am pleased to say we have come through the other side of 2019/20 having made a positive impact in the first aid training space, both in the community and within St John. Whilst the year started like any other with steady growth in the commercial training sector, there certainly were major disruptions when the global pandemic hit in the second half of the year. I am extremely proud of the way St John staff and volunteers handled this hurdle and the way they have recovered from it. We continued to provide exceptional first aid training to the public and our volunteers also maintained the highest level of first aid skills in order to be equipped to support the South Australian community.

Understandably, many of our community activities were significantly altered or put on hold due to COVID-19 implications. However, we were still able to enjoy sharing our first aid message in the community in the first half of the 2019/20 financial year. Prior to COVID-19 restrictions coming into effect and limitations being put on the delivery of our First Aid in Schools (FAiS) program, we were able to train 4,740 South Australian primary school children in lifesaving first aid. The program covers a range of vital skills, such as how to call an ambulance, dealing with an unconscious person, treating a range of injuries and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for older students. In the first half of the financial year, we hit the road in our CPR Lab and provided a number of community CPR and defibrillator demonstrations. These were always well-received and in country towns, often had people traveling considerable distances to attend. Further to this, 2019/20 saw the third and final instalment of our Every Heartbeat Matters program with The Australian Hotels Association SA and Clubs SA, delivering another 104 public access defibrillators to pubs and clubs in regional and remote areas of the state. We also continued our partnership with OTR to install public access defibrillators at all of their regional sites, which were complemented with community CPR and defibrillator education. It is heartening to look back on the past year and see all of the achievements that have been made in an otherwise trying landscape. When we keep our goals and mission clear in our mind and work through innovative solutions to bring this to life, we can achieve great things even under challenging circumstances. Everyone within St John SA has helped make this possible in the past year and I thank you all for tireless work to bring first aid education to the South Australian Community and to our own member cohort.

Professor Paul Arbon AM KStJ Chair of Training

Operations training

It has been the year of digital revolution for Education within St John SA with the first steps for a number of projects being taken on the exciting journey into the e-Learning world.

This journey commenced in 2019 with the introduction of IRIS;

*See page 65.