St. John Ambulance in Hong Kong

Hong Kong St. John Ambulance is a charitable organization with a long history stretching back over a century and has been serving the community since 1884.In Hong Kong, the St. John Ambulance Association was established in 1884, followed by the Ambulance Brigade in 1916 and the Council in 1949. Adhered to its motto, "For the Service of Mankind", the organisation is dedicated to provide First aid and ambulance services in emergency, dental care for the handicapped, and courses of instructions on First Aid and Home Nursing for the general public.

Since its establishment, St. John in Hong Kong has been operating under the Order of St. John Ordinance Chapter 1047 in the laws of Hong Kong, and in accordance with the regulations given by St. John Headquarters in London with her Majesty the Queen as the Sovereign Head of the Order.

To facilitate a smooth transition for the services and operation of the St. John Council for Hong Kong after the sovereignty change over in 1997 and to enable St. John in Hong Kong to exist as an independent organization free from the direction of the Order of St. John in United Kingdom, except for a fraternal relationship, a new Hong Kong St. John Ambulance Incorporation Ordinance (Chapter 1164) was enacted by the Legislative Council on 27 June, 1997. Under the new Ordinance, the old Council, the Association and the Brigade are now incorporated as a body corporate and have the new corporate name of Hong Kong St. John Ambulance, while the nature of the works of St. John remains unchanged.

Hong Kong St. John Ambulance has been serving the community since 1884. It is dedicated to provide first aid and ambulance services in emergency, dental care for the handicapped, and courses of instructions on first aid and home nursing for the general public.

After the handover in 1997, the organisation answers directly to the Chief Executive of Hong Kong. As from 2005, the Chief Executive is Donald Tsang. The organisation has since been running on an independent basis from the UK.

The St. John Ambulance Headquarters is at 2 Macdonnell Road, which has been reconstructed to accommodate a hotel to guarantee a financial income.

The Hong Kong Island Command heaquarters is at Tai Hang Road in a historical building built in 1935, overlooking the Central Library and Victoria Park. It is also an ambulance depot for the Brigade.

The Kowloon and New Territories Command headquarters is located next to Kowloon Hospital, and to date has a footdrill ground and simple classrooms for activities. The Kowloon ambulance depot is not too far away at the Princess Road.

The New Territories' headquarters is located in Sheung Shui, mainly as an ambulance depot.

Organization

The Council is the governing body of the organization, responsible for policy making, fund raising, allocation of resources, and providing support and co-ordination of the functions of the St. John Ambulance Association and Brigade.

St. John Ambulance Association is responsible for training members of the public in the principle and the practice of First Aid, Home Nursing and other allied subjects, together with publication of textbooks to facilitate such instruction. It also organizes examinations and issues certificates of proficiency to successful candidates. Modest fees are charged for courses and examinations.

St. John Ambulance Brigade, the service arm of St. John, is responsible for the organization, training and equipment of men, women and young persons to undertake, on a voluntary basis, either as individuals or as organized groups, First Aid, Home Nursing and allied activities in public places, or elsewhere as occasions may require, for welfare to those in need. The service is free.

Under the leadership of the Commissioner, the Brigade has a strength of over 5,600 volunteers who are trained to be efficient and competent at all times to perform public duties in the following aspects:
*Ambulance services
*first aid service
*dental care for the handicapped
*cadet service

Cadet Command

The Cadet Command of Hong Kong St. John Ambulance Brigade was established in 1948. It's objective is to train teenagers (aged 12 to 18) in First Aid, Home Nursing, and encourage them to develop their interest in social and practical skills such as Road & Home Safety, Community Care, etc. which are conductive to their development to becoming good citizens. It is hoped, too, that the Cadet Region will lay the foundation for membership of the Ambulance and Nursing Divisions of the Brigade.

At present, all Cadet Divisions are established in secondary schools.

The Cadet activities are multifarious. Cadets will participate in Leadership Training Programmes and receive training in other proficiency subjects such as Fire Fighting, Canoeing, Camping, Life-Saving, Rock Climbing, Map Reading, Cookery, etc.

Structure for Cadet CorpsCadet Region A (3 Cadet Corps: 25 divisions)

Region A No.1 Cadet Corps (Central Western HKI)
Sacred Heart Nursing (Pokfulam)
SKH Lui Ming Choi Combined (Pokfulam)
King’s Ambulance (Western District)
St. Paul’s Ambulance (Mid-levels)
St. Paul’s Nursing (Mid-levels)
St. Joseph’s Ambulance (Mid-levels)
SKH Tang Shiu Kin Combined (Wanchai)
St. Margaret’s Combined (Stubb’s Road)

Region A No.2 Cadet Corps (Central Eastern HKI)
Ho Tung Nursing (Causeway Bay)
Confucius Hall Combined (Causeway Bay)
St. Paul’s Secondary School Nursing (Happy Valley)
KCC Ambulance (North Point)
KCC Nursing (North Point)
Man Kiu Combined (North Point)
Munsang (HKI) Combined (Shaukiwan)
CNEC Lau Wing Sang Combined (Chai Wan)

Region A No.3 Cadet Corps (Kowloon East)
Po Chiu Combined (Yau Tong)
St. Paul’s School (Lam Tin) Nursing (Lam Tin)
St. Catharine’s Nursing (Kwun Tong)
Ning Po Combined (Kwun Tong)
Leung Kwai Yee Combined (Kwun Tong)
Carmel Combined (Tseung Kwan O)
SFTA Cheng Yu Tung Combined (Tseung Kwan O)
Brecknock Combined (Tseung Kwan O)
Chang Pui Chung Combined (Tseung Kwan O)

Cadet Region B (3 Cadet Corps: 21 divisions)

Region B No.1 Cadet Corps (Kowloon Central)
Goodhope Nursing (Shun Lee)
St. Benedict’s Combined (Choi Hung)
Ng Wah Ambulance (San Po Kong)
Lee Kau Yan Ambulance (San Po Kong)
Mountbatten Nursing (San Po Kong)
Munsang Ambulance (Kowloon City)
Munsang Nursing (Kowloon City)
La Salle Ambulance (Kowloon City)

Region B No.2 Cadet Corps (Kowloon Central & West)
Kowloon Tong School (SS) Combined (Kowloon Tong)
Kowloon New Method Combined (Mongkok)
Wai Kiu Combined (Shek Kip Mei)
KTS Ambulance (Shamshuipo)
SKH St. Mary’s Church Combined (Shamshuipo)
PLK Tong Nai Kan Combined (Mei Foo)

Region B No.3 Cadet Corps (Tsuen Wan/ Kwai Tsing)
Ho Fung Combined (Kwai Chung)
Yenching Nursing (Tsing Yi)
SC Gaw Combined (Tsing Yi)
Liu Po Shan Combined (Tsuen Wan)
St. Francis Xavier’s Ambulance (Tsuen Wan)
Wong Siu Ching Ambulance (Tsuen Wan)
Wong Siu Ching Nursing (Tsuen Wan)

Region C Cadet Region (3 Cadet Corps: 23 divisions)

Region C No.1 Cadet Corps (Shatin)
Lam Kau Mow Nursing (Shatin)
Jockey Club Ti-I Combined (Shatin)
Lok Sin Tong Combined (Shatin)
Shatin Methodist Combined (Shatin)
Wong Wan Tin Combined (Shatin)
Chan Kai Combined (Shatin)
St. Rose of Lima’s Nursing (Shatin)

Region C No.2 Cadet Corps (Tuen Mun)
Hoh Fuk Tong Combined (Tuen Mun)
Ho Ngai Combined (Tuen Mun)
MTS Combined (Tuen Mun)
Yan Oi Tong Combined (Tuen Mun)
Ma Ko Pan Combined (Tuen Mun)
TWGHs Sun Hoi Director’s Combined (Tuen Mun)
Carmel Bunnan Tong Combined (Tuen Mun)
San Wui Commercial Society Combined (Tuen Mun)

Region C No.3 Cadet Corps (Yuen Long/ Taipo)
YL Merchants Association SS Combined (Yuen Long)
Bishop Baker Combined (Yuen Long)
Shung Tak Combined (TSW/Hung Shui Kiu)
Jockey Club Eduyoung Combined (TSW)
Chan Young Combined (Sheungshui)
Tai Po Sam Yuk Nursing (Taipo)
Carmel Holy Word Combined (Taipo)
Law Ting Pong Nursing (Taipo)
* [http://www.stjohn.org.hk/cadet/ Cadet Command]

Controversies

The uniform of the Hong Kong St. John Ambulance Cadets is still made of thick material similar to the historical British counterpart, and includes a jacket designed to withstand temperatures at around 5°C in its winter uniform. This may be deemed unsuitable for Hong Kong's sub-tropical climate, where winter temperatures rarely fall below 10°C, sometimes going up above 20, and summer temperatures regularly exceeding 30°C.

ee also

*St. John Ambulance
*Service Medal of the Order of St John

External links

* [http://www.stjohn.org.hk/en/index.shtml Hong Kong St. John Ambulance]
* [http://www.sjac.org/gr/ General Regulations of Hong Kong St. John Ambulance Brigade]