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St. John Ambulance is a British charity, dedicated to the teaching and practice of medical first aid. There are many groups (priories) across different countries, and the collective falls under the ownership of the Order of St. John.
St. John Ambulance was originally divided into two fields, teaching first-aid to workplace employees via the St. John Ambulance Association, and providing uniformed medical volunteers to cover public duties via the St. John Ambulance Brigade. However, these two entities merged in 1968 to form a single unified St. John Ambulance, providing both training and first-aid cover.
The organisation is divided into Priories in a country level, and these into Counties. These are further subdivided into Divisions, of which members join. Members of the Bridage complete a number of medical qualifications, ranging from the basic FAW First-Aid At Work course recognised by the HSE, through to advanced Ambulance Technican training approaching that of NHS Ambulance Technicians. Once qualified, they are free to volunteer their time in public duty, covering a variety of public events such as major football matches, concerts and gigs, smaller community events such as 'fun days', and even (qualifications permitting) crewing of emergency ambulance. As a rule they are not paid for their time on duty, although expenses are met whenever possible.
As a ranked organisation, members fall under the command of senior figures. Ranks run from Bridage Member at the bottom, through Corporals, Sergeants and Officers all the way up to high national ranks. However, the voluntary nature of the organisation makes strict observance of rank difficult, and rank is awarded for suitability of purpose rather than reward or skill. First names are generally used by those of all ranks, and formal addressings such as 'Sir' are seldom heard. Similarly, members can receive basic drill instruction, and parade is occasionally used for formal occasions, with saluting, marching and falling in and out of order. Unlike a military organisation, however, this is largely regarded as eye-candy for the public than to instill strict obedience.
As well as providing personnel, St. John Ambulance owns a large number of transportation vehicles for PTS (Patient Transport Services) and emergency use. The recently designed Mark-4 Crusader is a highly versatile and professional blue-lights emergency ambulance, which can be used in many situations by members. The higher qualifications are usually required to drive or crew these emergency vehicles.
The St. John Ambulance uniform is well known by many people, and members are required to wear uniform when on duty, both for identification and to generally present a professional image. It is protected by law and may only be worn by registered and qualified brigade members. Unlike many volunteer groups, the St. John uniform is relatively formal, and is similar to a British Police uniform -- for which they are sometimes mistaken! There are presently 8 orders of dress, intended for different situations such as formal ceremonies and nursing care. The two most widely used are #2 (dress uniform without tailored jacket) and #5 (operational uniform), and these two are reasonably similar, consisting of:
These days, high visibility garments are encouraged for outdoor duties, adopting the yellow/green two tone generally accepted for emergency medical services. An alternative operational uniform is a green two-piece suit, similar to those of paramedics and technicians from many other ambulance organisations.
Uniform, equipment and kit are supplied by St. John Supplies, the trading wing of the organisation. This group sells products both to members, divisions and the general public, and profits are returned to the organisation as a whole. Certain items are restricted to purchase by members, such as the uniforms.