Pride of NZ: 24/7 dedication saves ambo service

Jan Bourke's pager is on day and night to respond to emergency callouts. Photo / Martin Hunter

Tirelesss worker for harbour town community motivates, trains and mentors St John emergency team.

Akaroa is a quiet harbour town in winter but its population peaks at more than 10,000 over the summer.

So when no one was willing to take over running the local St John, the popular Canterbury tourist town faced losing its only ambulance service.

This was not an option for Jan Bourke. "They needed somebody to formally take over as station manager, so I did."

That was in 2013 and since then, Ms Bourke has had the St John pager on day and night and attends emergency callouts in the rugged Akaroa and Banks Peninsula district.

"When summer arrives and the cruise ships come in, we're a lot busier with visitors and callouts."

It's this volunteer service that earned her a nomination in the Emergency Services section of the Pride of New Zealand awards. Ms Bourke, who won the award for the South Island, is one of 24 national finalists to be celebrated at a dinner at Auckland Museum on Wednesday.

The person who nominated her said: "Jan has put in countless hours to unite the Akaroa team, motivate, train and mentor them to provide 24/7/365 coverage for her community. Good people like Jan deserve as much recognition as possible for doing a good job."

Ms Bourke, a caregiver at Pompallier House rest home, became involved with St John about five years ago, as her partner was with the volunteer fire service.

There are 10 St John members in Akaroa, for about 200 callouts a year.

"A couple of people are in Spain and a couple of people are in Christchurch for the winter, so just at the moment there are four of us to spread the load," Ms Bourke said.

The ambulance is often met at callouts by the rescue helicopter, which takes 12 minutes to fly from Christchurch.

Extreme weather in recent years has meant the Akaroa St John has recently been given a satellite phone to use in emergencies.

The town also gets involved in fundraising activities to support the local ambulance service.