Just in Case: Stories from St John

In this episode, we explore St John Ambulance Cymru’s ambitious goal to achieve a ‘Mentally Healthy Wales’ by 2030. Join Belinda James, Lead Commercial Trainer, as she breaks down the staggering impact of the mental health crisis and explains why mental health first aid is just as critical as physical first aid.

In this episode, we sit down with Mike Flanagan, St John Ambulance Cymru's Assistant Chief Commissioner for South and East Wales, to explore an extraordinary 30-year journey of voluntary service. Mike shares the experiences that shaped his lifelong commitment to helping others and opens up about what it feels like to be nominated for the Mayor’s Citizenship Award.

In this inspiring episode, we celebrate a major milestone: three student volunteers are among the first in Wales to qualify as Event Responders. Charlotte Johnson, Poppy Willis and Harry Marsh share their journey through months of intensive training, assessments and personal growth to achieve this new clinical skill level.

While most of Wales is winding down for Christmas, St John Ambulance Cymru is gearing up for one of its busiest times of the year. In this episode, Darren Murray, Head of Response Operations, takes us behind the scenes of the charity’s festive frontline. Darren reflects on the scale of the operation, the dedication of volunteers who give up time with their families and the quiet, life-changing impact their work has across Wales.

In this episode, Sam sits down with Paul Griffiths, Prior for Wales at St John Ambulance Cymru, to uncover the unlikely beginning of his journey with the charity. Paul explains how supporting his son’s Duke of Edinburgh first aid training drew him into the organisation, eventually leading him from volunteering in Newport to chairing the board and becoming Prior.

In this episode of Just in Case: Stories from St John, host Sam Cook sits down with Richard Lee, CEO of St John Ambulance Cymru. Richard shares why he believes mental health first aid is just as vital as physical care, how volunteers changed the course of the pandemic, and why he still pulls on his paramedic uniform to work frontline shifts.

In this episode, BBC The Traitors finalist Andrew Jenkins shares his powerful journey from surviving a near-fatal car crash to becoming an advocate for mental health first aid. His story is one of resilience, silence, and ultimately using lived experience to help others speak up and seek support.

In the debut episode of Just in Case: Stories from St John, host Sam Cook sits down with Chris Edwards, a runner who collapsed just metres from the finish line of the Porthcawl 10K after suffering a sudden cardiac arrest.With no warning signs and no time to spare, it was the swift response from St John Ambulance Cymru volunteers that made the difference between life and death. In this powerful conversation, Chris shares his emotional journey of survival and recovery.