An expanded partnership has seen St John WA train ECU paramedicine students to be ready to help respond in the event of a major emergency in regional Western Australia. Credit: St John WA
Edith Cowan University paramedicine students will be ready to help in the event of a disaster in regional areas of Western Australia, thanks to St John WA delivering additional specialist training this month.
A new 'surge workforce' program will see ECU's students provide Western Australia’s emergency ambulance service with a reserve team able to deploy as volunteers to support the response to major incidents involving multiple casualties, including bushfires, cyclones and floods.
Under the expanded partnership between ECU and St John WA, 33 students will receive specialised training to become Emergency Medical Assistants (EMAs), while a further 19 are already trained through St John WA's volunteer system and will join the surge workforce team.
The ECU students will undertake emergency and non-emergency duties including resuscitation, medical and trauma cases, and assisting with interhospital transfers as well as rapid deployment for disasters and major planned events.
They will be "road-ready" for deployment and will bolster the ambulance service's capability during major incidents.
St John WA is covering all expenses, and the students' time spent volunteering will also contribute to completing their required clinical hours as part of their studies, helping to move them closer to their paramedicine careers.
Associate Dean of Allied Health, Associate Professor David Reid, said ECU was pleased to support the surge workforce program and further the partnership with St John WA for the benefit of the WA public.
"ECU is very pleased to be supporting this important initiative which will support St John Ambulance’s emergency and non-emergency operations," he said.
"The partnership will enable students to gain real-life experience alongside experienced paramedics and connect their university knowledge to patient care.
"Working alongside their future colleagues will assist them when they graduate and become eligible to be registered paramedics."
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Regional Futures) and Vice-President Professor Cobie Rudd said the initiative will assist local volunteers and paramedics and go some way to building the future rural workforce.
“Leveraging ECU South West’s Bunbury campus, distributed learning hubs and University Department of Rural Health South West, we are pleased to be able to provide our paramedic students with an opportunity to assist St John in regional areas,” she said.
"The evidence shows that students who are provided with a rural work-related opportunity are more likely to want to work back in rural areas."
St John WA Head of Specialist Operations Joe Cuthbertson said the collaboration between St John WA and ECU signified a significant step forward in preparing for and responding to emergency situations in WA.
"By harnessing the skills and dedication of ECU paramedicine students, the surge workforce program aims to ensure a robust emergency response system, capable of effectively managing high-demand scenarios," Mr Cuthbertson said.
