A WORTHY CAUSE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25386, 18 November 1943, Page 4

A WORTHY CAUSE

The St. John Ambulance Association will to-morrow, by means of a collection in the streets, make ite annual appeal for funds to assist it in maintaining the service which it renders to the public. The extent of this service may be imperfectly appreciated. There is, of course, no lack of recognition of the importance of the part which the association plays in the interest of the community in the ambulance transport that is furnished by it. For the efficiency with which this service alone is performed the public owes it a debt. The system of district nursing which the association provides is a less spectacular activity, but its value is incontestable and, if the association possessed the means to extend it, a great benefit would be conferred on many people whose circumstances do not permit of their personally engaging nursing belp. It is in connection with the classes which the association holds for instruction in first aid, home nursing, hygiene and sanitation that it is brought most directly in touch with the people. The fact that more than 20,000 persons have undergone a course of instruction in first aid and that more than 5000 have been instructed in home nursing is sufficient to show that an exceedingly useful contribution is made by the association to the promotion of public health. A more striking service is rendered in the establishment of a blood bank created through the self-sacrifice of a;considerable number of donors of blood for transfusion purposes. During the present war, in which blood transfusion has been the means of saving countless lives, its great value has been demonstrated more conclusively than at any previous time, and the branch of the Ambulance Association’s operations that is known as the Voluntary Blood Transfusion Society is one that is likely to become increasingly useful. The varied activities of the association merit a generous acknowledgment to-morrow from the members of the community which it serves.