Member of Parliament in Western Australia Bevan Eatts was flabbergasted to find out that volunteer communities were expected to fundraise for new ambulances. This constitutes a remarkable admission, given that the state government has actually reported an enormous operating surplus of $3.1 billion. This revelation underscores ongoing challenges faced by St John WA, the organization responsible for providing ambulance services across the region. As volunteers and communities rally together to secure funding for new equipment, concerns about volunteer burnout and inadequate support for country ambulance centres grow.
St John WA manages daily operations effectively but struggles to finance larger projects. The local volunteers and community members are wonderfully passionate and currently fundraising towards a new sub-station in Kondinin. This collaborative effort underscores local communities’ need for bolder state government support now more than ever. Kondinin was thrilled to have a new sub-centre open last year. Yet at the same time, fiscal pressures are increasing, particularly for smaller centres who suffer from a lack of stable income sources.
Funding Challenges for Ambulance Services
Representing St John WA, Geoff Wishard illustrated the impacts of financial pressure on the sub-centres. He pointed out that while they are able to pay their operating costs, coming up with money to buy large ticket, capital equipment is still a challenge. “Uniforms, drugs, medical supplies, ambulances, filing cabinets, tea and coffee … everything is paid for by the sub-centre,” said Wishard. He noted that smaller centers are going through a especially difficult time. They usually have a hard time making a profit on their services.
“Where it gets tricky is with the smaller centres that don’t have as many jobs, because then they don’t have that same income stream.” – Geoff Wishard
Now, a dedicated crew of volunteers in Pemberton are in the midst of a campaign to raise $300,000—enough to replace one of their ambulances. This new effort is illustrative of a hopeful trend. Fundraising events are the new normal as communities scramble to fund expensive equipment and extensive renovations to substations. Lisa Billingham, a volunteer involved in these efforts, mentioned various fundraising activities they have undertaken, such as catering and manning bars at local events.
“To raise the money we have undertaken catering, waitressing jobs, manning bars at sports wind-ups [and] also held a grain drive.” – Lisa Billingham
Volunteer Burnout and Community Support
As volunteers have been called on to devote more and more hours to their local ambulance services, the risk of burnout has become a real concern. As Bevan Eatts, president of the National Association of State Conservation Agencies, noted, the workload volunteers are being tasked with is becoming intolerable. “The burden on our volunteers is too much and we’re asking too much,” he stated.
Billingham agreed, adding that volunteers are left feeling stretched thin having to balance fundraising with their volunteer service. “We burnt ourselves out — our volunteers already volunteer so many hours,” she noted. She was thankful for the support of her community during times.
“However our community has been awesome coming forth with donations.” – Lisa Billingham
Through thick and thin, local volunteers stay dedicated to fighting tooth and nail that their communities get the life-saving ambulance care they need. Like many of our sub-centres, they are eager to work together and pool their assets for greater impact. “Hopefully everyone can work together within the model that we’ve got … I think that’s what the sub-centres are doing now — they’re saying, ‘We can support each other,’” Eatts said.
Calls for Increased Government Support
The persistent economic pressure on local ambulance services has raised demands for both State and Federal governments to do more to support regional centres. As many rural areas are losing population and resources, advocates say the status quo funding model just isn’t feasible. Billingham pointed out that “most small country towns are getting smaller — people’s pockets are only so deep,” suggesting that continued reliance on local fundraising efforts may not be viable long-term.
Eatingts suggestions included reintroducing programs like Royalties to Regions to increase funding for regional health services. He thinks it would go some way towards relieving the financial squeeze that many ambulance services are under all over WA.
St John WA is passionate about providing lifesaving emergency services. Now more than ever, the community and government must come together to take action. The ongoing fundraising efforts of volunteers highlight the dedication of local communities, but they expose the significant gaps in support that must be addressed.
