ST JOHN Ambulance Cymru volunteers have been sharing their experiences of working on the Covid frontline with Wrexham MP Sarah Atherton.

Volunteers from the charity welcomed Sarah Atherton to their hub, sharing their stories of how they have been volunteering for the charity through the pandemic.

Jessica Rogers, 24, has been a volunteer throughout the pandemic, working at her local vaccination centre, where she helped care for hundreds of people.

National cadet of the year, Joshua Taylor, 18, from Deeside, spoke about his ambitions to drive forward the voice of children and young people through the charity’s Badger and Cadet programmes. Joshua has also given his time to care for people in his community at vaccination centres.

Ms Atherton saw vehicles that have been used to transport patients to and from hospital and was also given her very own CPR demonstration, highlighting the lifesaving first aid training the charity gives people in communities across Wales.

St John Ambulance Cymru, Chief Executive Officer, Helen Smith, joined the teams at the Wrexham training centre.

She said: “We were delighted to welcome Sarah and share the amazing achievements of our St John people during one of the most challenging situations we’ve faced in over a century of serving Welsh communities.

“Our mission is to enhance the health and wellbeing of communities in Wales, and the determination, passion and resilience of our volunteers as well as our behind-the-scenes teams, has been outstanding. It was fantastic to share our story and our impact with Sarah today.”

Sarah Atherton said: “With a background in nursing, it was really enjoyable to learn more about the work of St John Ambulance Cymru and to be able to refresh my own skills at the same time!

“Hearing more about the great work that has been done over the past year, which has been particularly tough, was also incredibly uplifting. Most importantly, I was pleased to be able to thank and celebrate the volunteers too – they have all done an outstanding job, despite such adversity.”

The charity has provided vital support in local communities through their pharmacy delivery programme, which ran through the first wave of the pandemic, as well as caring for patients at Wales’ field hospitals. Their patient transport service was recruited to enhance their frontline activity, supporting the Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust, freeing up vital ambulances for emergency calls.

St John Ambulance Cymru continue their work supporting communities wherever and whenever they’re needed. The charity are expected to continue delivering care at vaccination centres in North Wales until spring 2022.

More information about St John Ambulance Cymru and their charitable work is available at www.sjacymru.org.uk.