Andrew Bailey recently attended the annual Guernsey St John Ambulance & Rescue awards evening to collect an award on behalf of the Herm Island first aid team. Andrew has been one of the island first aid team for the last 16 years, indeed when he arrived on Herm in 1995 he was the only person with any first aid training. Over the years he has managed to recruit other volunteers to assist with the large number of incidents each year. Herm now has 9 residents who all achieved the FPOS (First person on scene) qualification during 2010. We rely on our volunteers to provide first aid cover 24/7 throughout the season. There is no doctor resident on Herm so our volunteers provide an essential service for visitors and guests staying on the island.

A significant issue for Herm is the fact that we generally have to wait about 45 minutes before medical help arrives from Guernsey. Over the years Herm has worked closely with the St John Ambulance to provide better and more relevant training for its volunteers to enable them to manage a patient during this time. Volunteers are now trained to use oxygen, entonox, cervical collars, a defibrillator as well as all the usual bandages and dressings. Volunteers receive training updates twice yearly as well as participating in training exercises on the island with the other emergency services.

The St John Ambulance & Rescue Service provides an excellent emergency service to Herm Island and the other offshore islands via its marine ambulance “The Flying Christine”. The service celebrates its 75^th anniversary this year. To find out more about the Guernsey St John Ambulance & Rescue click here http://www.ambulance.org.gg/