Pride of NZ: Jan rescues ambulance service

Emergency Services category: The remote Canterbury harbour hamlet of Akaroa, population 650, came to a turning point a year ago.

"If someone didn't step up and say they'd be station manager, we might not have had an ambulance service," Jan Bourke says.

That was not acceptable. Akaroa's summer population booms to 10,000 - especially with cruise ships docking - but the number of St John staff do not increase.

When Mrs Bourke, 56, heard about the crisis, she stepped up and became St John Ambulance station manager and has hardly had time off since. "If I wanted a night off there's quite a bit of planning to do. You're the one sitting there drinking the ginger beer while everyone else is drinking. It's easier to carry on working than stop working."

Her nominator said Mrs Bourke - who has a pager at hand night and day - exemplifies the St John core values of empathy, integrity, professionalism and teamwork.

Banks Peninsula covers 1150sq km and maintains coverage of it all 24/7; as Christchurch's support is an hour away.

"Jan has put in countless hours to unite the Akaroa team, train, motivate and mentor them to provide 24/7/365 coverage for her community," the nominator said.

"She also volunteers to support her volunteer fire service colleagues. Simply, good people like Jan deserve as much recognition as possible for doing a good job. It will serve to motivate others."

St John Akaroa is so deprived that they don't actually have a station.

"We are guests of the fire brigade. We use their driveway and a little office," Mrs Bourke said.

Mrs Bourke, who also works as a caregiver at Akaroa's rest home, spends much of her St John time transporting patients or organising their transport by helicopter across the wild peninsula's peaks and coves.

Some staff recently went on holiday - which meant the tiny station lost around a third of its staff in one go, leaving four St John crew including Mrs Bourke. She doesn't complain.

"We have just the one ambulance. It's our pride and joy."