Antrim St John Ambulance unit opens first new permanent base in decades

THE Antrim St John Ambulance Unit turned 73 years old on 1st October 2024.

And 31-years-ago, the Antrim Guardian published an appeal from the local St John Ambulance unit, where volunteers begged for a permanent place to call home.

Last week, that dream finally became a reality, when the ribbon was cut on a new base, where the volunteers can provide training, storage and maintain both their ambulances in the one location.

But it hasn’t always been plain sailing - since 2018 the unit has moved six times.

However unit leader Trish Brady said that landlords at The Junction have been ‘phenomenal’ and fully supportive.

Nearly 30-years-ago, Trish came to Antrim to help out and eventually became assistant unit leader, before being promoted to leader in 2021.

Since 1951, when the unit amassed 22 volunteers in the first three years, it has now treated over 7,000 patients and volunteers have devoted over 172,000 hours of their time.

“When the opportunity came up for this unit, we invited the St John management down, we all looked at it and said ‘this is it’,” explained Trish.

“We were allocated a new vehicle last year and this is the first time we have had two ambulances, and we have 54 members on the books.

“We have two student doctors, two student nurses, five registered paramedics and lots of student paramedics.

“Having the stability of knowing we don’t have to move, pack and unpack again, knowing where everything is, even your own cup in a cupboard, is so good.

“In May we were given a week to leave a unit in the middle of the North West 200, then we had to move from June into July, so it is brilliant to have our first guaranteed home, and the support from the community is brilliant.

“Helen Kirkpatrick, who spoke to the Guardian 31-years-ago, was at the official opening the other night and thought it was amazing.”

Trish said that volunteering with St John helps people make new friends, attend events they normally wouldn’t, see behind the scenes, learn new skills and even change career paths.

“We have a mechanic at the station who loves tinkering with the vehicles, we have others who are going off on different journeys to become involved in medicine or dentistry now that they have some understanding behind what we do, it’s not just paperwork!

“It’s great to see people have that lightbulb moment, where they learn a skill and want to use those skills to help others, to share their knowledge and perhaps change the trajectory of their own lives as well as the lives of others.”

The local unit volunteers have worked at events like the Enchanted Winter Garden in Antrim Castle Gardens but have also travelled to Twickenham, the Aviva, the Trooping of the Colour and New Year’s Eve in London among others.

Recent events have included the Special Olympics, racing at Nutt’s Corner, many council events and those run by The Junction, athletics tournaments and church fetes.

The unit is now gearing up for Halloween and Christmas events.

As well as emergency responders and ambulance crews, volunteers can deal with issues including blood pressure and blood sugar monitoring or just reassurance in the event of a panic or anxiety attack.

Other training covers bleeding, bandages and slings, burns, choking, broken bones, drowning, strokes, allergic reactions, fits, asthma attacks and much more.

The unit also supplies non-emergency patient transport from Antrim Area Hospital to their homes and in the past have also been involved in repatriation and a major incident response, given the key location close to Belfast International Airport.

Volunteers meet weekly where training and development is ongoing and they also take part in scenarios where major incidents are mimicked and play their role in fundraising, where they can often be seen at The Junction.

Unit president is Chris Flynn, who is also manager at The Junction. A past president is former SDLP councillor, Noreen McClelland, who was immensely impressed when she first attended a display put on by the Antrim Unit several years ago.

As a cadet in her youth who received her Grand Prior, she truly appreciated the service they provided.

Anybody interested in volunteering can get in touch via social media or email for further information, or you can visit the new St John Ambulance website.

You can also donate money in person at The Junction or by contacting the St John Ambulance head office.

If you quote ‘AANTA’ the money you donate will remain in the Antrim area.