When the call goes out for help after an accident or medical emergency, St John is first to respond. However, as St John's workload grows, the pool of volunteers needed to help crew ambulances across Otago is shrinking, Balclutha reporter Helena de Reus learned.
A drop in the number of people volunteering for St John nationally has the organisation rushing to head the problem off before it becomes ''dire''.
As a charitable organisation providing vital services, volunteers are the lifeblood of St John.
Just 1700 of the 10,000 adult New Zealanders involved with St John are paid for their time and expertise.
St John Balclutha team operations manager Stuart Holgate has been a member of St John for the past 17 years. He started as a cadet, became a volunteer, and took up a full-time position with the organisation when it came up.
Now, 18 months into the job as operations manager in Balclutha, Mr Holgate says St John is struggling to keep the ambulance manned 24/7.
''Volunteers have been declining over the last couple of years as people move away ... last year, we lost four members, which was a huge blow.''
The Balclutha station was seeking between 10 and 15 volunteers in order to double-crew the ambulance, he said.
''Volunteers are an essential part of the team. Of late, we're struggling to fill our shifts - often we're single-crewing just to keep manning the shifts. Ideally we would have two staff on each shift.''
Right now, Balclutha had 13 volunteers but not all of those were active, Mr Holgate said.
Another 15 volunteers were needed to bring the station to its full strength of 28.
In 2012, Balclutha-based St John staff attended a total of 1267 callouts. Of those, 300 were classed as accidents, 645 as medical events, 150 were transfers, and 172 were in other categories.
The Balclutha ambulance covers Lovells Flat to Wairuna (south of Clinton), and inland to Clydevale. It often covers neighbouring areas when other St John staff are tied up with other jobs. Two ambulances are based in Balclutha, but with low volunteer levels, it is difficult to run both vehicles.
Over the past two years, St John staff in the Waitaki area - which covers Geraldine to Owaka - have attended 36,274 callouts. Most of these are classified as ''emergency ambulance service'' or urgent work, with only 4180 patient-transfer jobs.
St John Waitaki area rural support officer Ken Barton said volunteers were a crucial part of the organisation.
''We can't run the service without them. They cover 80% of our workforce.
''The problem is that people aren't coming forward to volunteer the way they used to. We need to head it off before it becomes dire.''
Mr Barton said the shortage of volunteers was not limited to his area, but was a national issue.
Student Corbin Bungard, of Clinton, began volunteering for St John in May 2011.
''I started off with the fire brigade in Clinton and learned real basic first aid with them. Seeing the Otago Rescue Helicopter in action was really interesting ... and I joined St John.''
Mr Bungard (19) lives in Clinton but is studying anatomy and physiology part time in Dunedin.
Next year, he will start nursing training, with the aim of becoming an advanced paramedic.
''Hopefully, I can keep volunteering with St John while I'm working as a nurse.''
Right now, Mr Bungard tries to do at least one 12-hour shift with St John each week.
''It's pretty unpredictable. We can be pretty busy with three to five jobs. You volunteer when you can, they don't force you to come in.
''On quiet days at St John, I can do some study. The people here have a such a wealth of knowledge, which helps too.''
In between callouts while working a 12-hour shift, he is usually studying - either for university or St John courses.
''You are always learning.''
Mr Bungard spends a lot of his spare time volunteering for St John and the Clinton Volunteer Fire Brigade. But he never begrudges the hours spent with either emergency service.
''You do get that rewarding feeling after helping someone.''
Volunteers require a good level of fitness, health, and schooling - to study for required first aid courses.
Mr Holgate said people interested in becoming St John volunteers were encouraged to start as observers to see if volunteering was for them.
''It's a good way to get an idea of what volunteers do. They don't have to be Balclutha residents; we encourage rural people to become involved too. They can stay and sleep at the station while they're covering a shift. It's good for us and good for the rural communities too.''
Shifts operate on a 12-hour basis from 7am to 7pm, and 7pm to 7am.
Ideally, volunteers would be available to do three shifts a month, but the organisation was flexible, he said.
''It's still one of the most rewarding jobs.''
Established in New Zealand since 1885, St John has grown to become one of the largest civilian service organisations in the country. Its mission is to ''prevent and relieve sickness and injury, and to enhance the health and wellbeing of all New Zealanders''.
Anyone interested in becoming a volunteer can visit their local St John office or call 0800 785-646.
