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A major organisational shake-up at St John has seen the Chief Ambulance Officer replaced, while her Deputy is believed to have resigned, with both roles now filled by people with more medical experience.
A new executive committee has been formed and new medical professionals appointed as part of the merger of St John Ambulance & Rescue Service (SJARS) and St John Guernsey (SJG) into a single organisation.
We're told the public won't see any difference in the services offered, by either the former emergency services or the voluntary and charitable side, but it means that everything will be delivered via a single legal entity, to be renamed St John Ambulance Guernsey.
The organisation's Chairman, experienced operationally-focussed businessman Roy Tilleard, said the transition would be "seamless" and that the public should not notice any changes to the day-to-day delivery of emergency or first aid services.
One of the overarching aims of the reorganisation was to "raise the prominence and influence of qualified medical practitioners within the organisation", something which is reflected in the new appointments and the make-up of the Executive Committee.
it is also shown in the additions of Dr Neil Robinson and Dr Aruni Sen as Medical Director and Medical Advisor respectively both are experienced consultants in Emergency Medicine based at the Princess Elizabeth Hospital.
Mr Tilleard said the restructuring was the outcome of a review of the Bailiwick's St John services that was commenced in the second half of last year.
"The review was conducted by the Priory of St John, who are the shareholders, and it didn’t involve anyone here on island," he said.
It was their "directive" following that review of local operations that the organisations be merged and Mr Tilleard was approached with a view to become the new entity's chairman.
Pictured: Ali Marquis was Chief Ambulance Officer until earlier this month, but has now left the service, although the reasons remain unclear.
Upon taking up the role, with the blessing of the shareholders, he was tasked with aligning the two boards, populating an executive committee and replacing existing senior figures if necessary with people with superior medical experience.
As part of the internal changes, the Chief Ambulance Officer Ali Marquis and Deputy Chief Ambulance Officer Joel De Woolfson have left the organisation.
It is understood that Mr De Woolfson resigned.
There have been no further departures.
They have been replaced by Mark Mapp, an experienced operational paramedic and clinical instructor, and SJARS Senior Officer Dean de la Mare, respectively.
"The Chief Ambulance Officer and Deputy Chief Officer have been replaced with two professionals who are again increasing our medical strength," he said. "That was my decision."
He confirmed that there was not an external recruitment process for either post, which he defended by citing the calibre of their replacements and the need to ensure a "seamless" transition which does not affect the user experience in any way.
Pictured: Joel de Woolfson was appointed Deputy Chief Officer of the emergency ambulance service earlier this year but has left the role after the merger of the two sides of St John.
"It is my job to make this operation work seamlessly, and I don’t think we could have found anyone better than Mark Mapp to be the Chief Ambulance Officer. Dean De La Mare was the outstanding choice for Deputy Chief Officer and they represent a massive increase in medical competence. It is often the case in business that you find that the better people are the first-line managers."
Mr Tilleard could not give any specific details about the two high-profile departures, but he confirmed that they have left the organisation in the last two weeks. No further changes in staff are anticipated.
Although he said there would be savings as part of the reorganisation, he stressed that the changes are "not at all cost-driven".
According to St John, the merger will:
Its official press release also states that: "Over the years St John has delivered different services from different parts of the organisation and the review was undertaken to help clarify the confusion amongst some stakeholders and the general public about the reasons for the existence of two operating companies, one delivering the “blue light” emergency ambulance services (St John Ambulance &Rescue Services, “SJARS” also known as the St John Emergency Ambulance Service) and the other voluntary and charitably funded services (St John Guernsey, “SJG”). Two separate companies also led to a degree of resource duplication and overlap."
The review of the services which prompted the reorganisation will not be made available to the public.
Pictured top: St John Ambulance Guernsey Chairman Roy Tilleard.
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