Partner in focus: Brendan Maher, CEO, St John Ambulance Australia

We spoke with Brendan Maher, CEO of St John Ambulance Australia, who explains the organisation’s vision and recent innovations.

What is the vision of St John Ambulance Australia?

Our vision is to be the number one trusted leader in responsive healthcare and wellbeing support for all Australians. We want a future where every Australian feels empowered and confident enough to provide first aid in an emergency situation, whether it’s in their home, workplace, school, or out in the community.

We believe that alongside first aid knowledge and skills, having access to life saving equipment, such as automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and first aid kits, is essential for creating safer communities.

We continuously strive to be at the forefront of health education, ensuring that our services evolve to meet the changing needs of our diverse communities, across all states and territories.

What are some of the challenges you face?

One of our primary challenges is increasing first aid training rates in Australia, which remain relatively low compared to other parts of the world. We're working to change this by advocating for first aid being an essential life skill for all. First aid can range from treating a sprain or minor wound to providing life-sustaining actions, such as keeping an airway open or effective delivery of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), or the deployment of an AED.

That leads into another challenge, which is improving public access to AEDs. While 96 per cent of Australians believe AEDs are important in public locations, and 82 per cent think they are important for homes, only one per cent of people have actually purchased one for their residence. We would like to see AEDs become as commonplace as fire extinguishers in communities, workplaces, homes and even vehicles. However, we do know that barriers such as lack of access, education and even fear present challenges. The good thing is that much of this can be easily overcome through first aid training.

Can you explain one of your organisation's recent innovations?

A recent innovation we're really proud of is our Learner Driver First Aid training. Young drivers can be more susceptible to experiencing road incidents due to their lack of experience on the road, and this is a particular concern at the beginning of summer since we have school leavers embarking on road trips and adventures for the first time.

The free e-learning program, which was recently updated, provides these young Australians with essential first aid skills. In just 40 minutes, participants learn crucial interventions. Since its inception, more than 8,000 Australians have participated in the training. It has also received endorsement and promotion by local governments, and undergone a clinical review that confirmed how effective it can be in improving self-agency in first aid.

What about the partnership with Healthdirect is most valuable to you?

Like Healthdirect Australia, we are committed to relieving the burden of sickness and injury, and even saving lives through first aid. We also deliver a diverse range of health, medical and wellbeing services, specific to local community needs. By collaborating and partnering with other health-focused organisations we can reach more Australians with evidence-backed, practical information.

This collaboration allows us to connect with Healthdirect's digital health services and their online audience to put first aid information in arm’s reach.

Together, we can provide comprehensive health information and support, ensuring that Australians have easy access to reliable healthcare knowledge and emergency preparedness resources.