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Kununurra could be without an ambulance service if new volunteers are not found immediately.
Kim Parker has been on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week for six months.
Chairman Chris Brandis has had to juggle his ambulance duties with his paid job at the WA/NT Border checkpoint.
Kim's paying job is as a bus driver.
Both volunteers are just about at the end of their tethers.
Along with secretary/treasurer Joanna Campbell, they are the Kununurra St John Ambulance Sub Centre.
They need to cover 42 shifts a week and need at least another six to 10 volunteers to come anywhere near this.
Both men agreed local police had done 'a fantastic job' backing them up but said this was a last resort and they didn't expect police to have to work as ambulance drivers all the time.
"Help us to help you," Chris said on Saturday, "Do you want an ambulance service in Kununurra?"
Volunteers need only turn up at the sub centre, next door to Kununurra District Hospital, between 6pm and 8pm on Tuesday nights to gain a senior first aid certificate.
Once they have showed a commitment, they are issued with uniforms and can go on to do an eight-day (four weekends) course to become a primary ambulance officer - both accreditations are recognised Australia wide and can be a real bonus in the workplace.
The training is free of charge.
And there are other benefits - Kim and Chris agree that the thrill isn't in driving a vehicle with flashing lights and sirens.
They say the greatest thrill is when they get a patient to hospital and get the thumbs up or a thankful smile.
"To see someone down the street walking again is the greatest thrill of my life," Kim said.
To help both men get a full night's sleep and provide a service that is vital to Kununurra, donate a couple of hours on a Tuesday night - your life and the lives of others could depend on it.
The sub centre also drastically needs a four-wheel-drive as recent rescues onto station land proved.
The two serviceable vehicles, an ageing Ford and a Mercedes, are just not suitable for transporting patients on bush tracks.
However, neither man has any idea where the money to get one will come from. |
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