St John Giving is expanding its Community Transport Service (CTS) to Northam, Western Australia thanks to the support of HIF. We have funded a fully equipped Kia Carnival with automatic external defibrillators and first aid kits, allowing trained St John volunteers to drive residents in Northam to vital healthcare services.
HIF’s partnership with St John Giving – the charitable arm of St John WA - began two years ago with the launch of the Bunbury CTS. The service is offered across Perth, Goldfields, Great Southern, Wheatbelt, the South West and now Northam.
HIF CEO Justin James said he was pleased to see the service expand across regional WA.
“St John WA’s Community Transport Service delivers reliable and affordable transportation to patients who need assistance travelling to and from hospital and specialist appointments and we are proud to be able to help expand this service,” Mr James said.
The dedicated CTS in Northam – driven by locally-recruited volunteers - is expected to make a huge difference to the lives of local elderly or residents living with a disability by providing them with safe, reliable and affordable transport.
St John CTS currently undertakes about 20 to 40 jobs in Northam each month, with anyone wishing to volunteer as a CTS driver encouraged to visit the St John WA website.
CTS volunteer Chuck Franz has been making the almost three-hour drive to Northam for more than a year and loves the opportunity to connect with people and ease their anxiety about any medical appointments.
“I realised that my journeys to Northam have touched several people, and clients in Perth also. Clients that have taught me a few new things in this journey of life,” Mr Franz said.
“The best part is when they get out of the vehicle with a smile on their face. When I hear laughter from the back seat, I usually end up sleeping very well that night.”
St John WA Group CEO Kevin Brown welcomed the expanded dedicated CTS service as part of St John’s broader commitment to connecting isolated members of the WA community to vital healthcare services.
“Many in our fringe and rural communities cannot use mainstream public transport systems or their usual form of transport to get their hospital and specialist appointments, which is where St John’s Community Transport Service steps in,” Mr Brown said.
“As well as servicing patients, CTS also provides an option to have a carer accompany patients at no extra cost. So partnerships between St John and HIF are important to ensure every West Australian is given equitable access to healthcare no matter their financial status.”