Shropshire St John Ambulance chiefs launch defence of the first aiders' charity

A report in a national newspaper claimed the service was being dragged away with from its traditional roots, with local members no longer in charge of their own affairs, regional assets being sold off and local groups being charged commercial fees.

But officials in the West Midlands today said there were no problems in Shropshire and the complaints had come from a "'small number of people trying to disrupt the work of the charity" who had "not counted on the passion and dedication of the vast majority of St John Ambulance employees and volunteers". The report said volunteers were unhappy the charity had moved away from its "bottom-up ethos", with each county in charge of its own affairs. Old divisions have been amalgamated into eight centralised offices, each headed by a professional managers on £80,000-a-year salaries.

It said that 10 dedicated volunteers had been suspended after they voiced their concerns and Sir Roger Gale MP, vice-president of the Canterbury and Coastal branch, has asked the Charity Commission to intervene.

But Peter Savage, St John Ambulance's Acting Regional Director for the West Midlands, said: "The article came about because of the concerns of a small number of unhappy volunteers, but they are in the minority.

"We were pleased to see a recent satisfaction survey by an independent company showed about 80 per cent of staff and volunteers are proud to work or volunteer for SJA and enjoy their role.

"St John Ambulance restructured in 2012, following input from our frontline staff and volunteers. Since then we have cut administrative costs and increased our charitable activities, training 37 per cent more young people than the year before and budgeting for a surplus this year."

Mr Savage said in Shropshire the service had 13 units, catering for 219 adult and 61 youth volunteers. He said: "We have a strong presence in Shropshire at events like the Shrewsbury Flower Show, the Newport Show, V festival just over the border and sporting events. In 2013, our volunteers provided emergency first aid services at 588 events in the county.

"A small number of people are attempting to disrupt the work of the charity by publicly voicing their criticisms, but they haven't counted on the passion and dedication of the vast majority of St John Ambulance employees and volunteers.

"The figures speak for themselves. Together we are doing more than ever to ensure that no one suffers for a lack of trained first aiders."