DEDICATED work over two decades has helped Mount Gambier ambulance officer Sandy Johnston develop into a leader of the region’s emergency services sector.
Mr Johnston joined the South Australian Ambulance Service as a volunteer in 2008 and has since climbed the ranks to become a team leader in the Blue Lake city.
His commitment to the profession and the wider community was recently recognised with a Rotary Pride of Workmanship Award.
In a show of respect from his colleagues, Mr Johnson received several nominations for the award from peers.
SA Ambulance Limestone Coast operations manager Andrew Thomas initially put a call out for nominations among the region’s emergency staff following a request from the Rotary Club of Mount Gambier West.
“The support and the excellence Sandy shows in his role means he deserves to be recognised throughout the region,” Mr Thomas said.
“He exemplifies what ambulance staff across the region do.
“It is always difficult to nominate just a single person out of a group because they all go out of their way but Mr Johnston is a person who has just stood out in terms of being a highly regarded supportive staff member and encourages everyone to do their best.
Humbled by the award, Mr Johnston shone the light on the work of the region’s emergency services network as a whole.
“These awards are recognition of who a variety of emergency services work together within the region,” Mr Johnston said.
“Without that being true, none of this would happen and we would not be talking about individuals.”
Mr Johnston said the community was “very lucky” to have a cohesive ambulance team.
“We all do the best we can,” he said.
“The way we interact with all of our emergency services and health colleagues is fantastic as patients get better care out of it which is the whole idea of doing what we do.”
While it was “nice to be recognised”, Mr Johnston said his focus was on delivering the level of service expected and deserved by the community.
“The job is intellectually challenging and is a difficult role in that perspective but there are large rewards from helping people,” he said.
“I also enjoy the team side of things and it is great to have a large cohesive team that all pull in the same direction.”
Mr Johnston said the “team” went beyond the ambulance crews and extended to the police and fire department.
“Those relationships are really good because all of those who are involved are continuously trying to do the best they can,” he said.
“A significant amount of our work is involved with other agencies.”
