The Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey has visited the new Alderney division of the St John Ambulance & Rescue Service (SJARS) as part of his tour of the island’s emergency services.
Lieutenant General Richard Cripwell and Mrs Cripwell where introduced to the members of the Alderney ambulance crew by the Chief Executive Officer of SJARS, Mark Mapp and Head of Quality and Patient Safety Aimee Lihou, who is the senior officer responsible for Alderney.After talking to staff and learning about their training and the new model of ambulance provision in Alderney, Mr and Mrs Cripwell were invited to watch a road traffic collision exercise where the ambulance service worked together with volunteers from the Alderney Fire & Rescue Service to safely extricate and treat a casualty who had been trapped in a crashed car.Following the demonstration the couple were introduced to Chief Fire Officer Mark Gaudion and volunteers from the fire service. The Lieutenant Governor and his wife spent time talking to representatives of both services and thanked ambulance staff and volunteer fire crews for their work and service to the island community. His Excellency said he was deeply impressed by the knowledge, skills, and compassion demonstrated by the emergency service personel. Earlier in the day the Lieutenant Governor and his wife had visited the Alderney Police station as part of their tour of the blue light services on the island.St John Ambulance and Rescue Service took on responsibility for the provision of ambulance operations in Alderney on 1st April 2023. The Alderney service is a satellite of the Guernsey organisation operating under the same clinical governance framework with ongoing support, leadership and oversight provided by senior staff in Guernsey.
The service has employed four Alderney residents who have undertaken clinical and driver training, as part of a nationally recognised qualification, and gained experience working alongside experienced clinicians in Guernsey. The Alderney service will continue to build resilience by establishing a new group of volunteer life savers who will support the full-time staff in major incidents and community first response. Recruitment of volunteers will start during the summer period.