Letter: St John's initiative

Sir: In response to the concerns expressed in the letters of both Jane Anderson and Colin Rollo (Letters, 2 February), I would like to detail the aims of St John Ambulance in the area of community care.

St John Ambulance is currently preparing its own community care plans and, as the foundation of this initiative, will be assessing the needs of communities on a local basis. It is intended that our professional members will work closely with both statutory and other voluntary bodies in identifying gaps in care provision. These local initiatives will be monitored on a national basis at our headquarters and, ultimately, a picture of areas of need will emerge. St John Ambulance will then be in a position to inform both local authorities and the Department of Health of our concerns.

I am sure that St John Ambulance will not be alone in this type of work and thus feel that the voluntary sector has an important part to play in the monitoring of community care provision and in evaluating the effectiveness of the system.

AUDREY EMERTON

Chief Nursing Officer

St John Ambulance

London, SW1

2 February