A strategic overhaul at St John Ambulance last year saw the charity strip away various layers of management, making 155 people redundant in the process.
The move from 41 county-based divisions to eight regions will enable the charity to maximise its charitable outputs, improve the quality of services of experience of its volunteers, and become more financially sustainable, according to its 2012 annual report.
The charity’s income grew by 6 per cent during 2012 to £88.8m, including voluntary income of £15.3m which was up 12 per cent on 2011.
Spending was up too, from £91.4m to £101.5m, leaving reserves down by £10.6m to £117.5m. However, the charity maintains that this level of reserves is adequate for its needs.
Overall staff numbers dropped from 1,907 full-time equivalents at the start of 2012 to 1,686 by the end, and the charity admitted that this included 155 redundancies.
Its two highest-paid employees were given pay rises, and will this year earn £140,000-£150,000, up from £130,000-£140,000 the year before.
Some other results from the report:
- During 2012 the charity provided first aid treatment to around 89,000 people, down from 96,000 in 2011
- During 2012 it delivered first aid training to around 247,000 people in workplaces, down from 257,000 in 2011, and 50,000 people in communities (2011: 49,000)
- It transported 139,000 people to or from places of treatment, an increase of almost 40 per cent on 2011.
The report also reveals that a revised senior management team structure was announced in early 2013 and a full restructure of central teams is taking place this year. A spokeswoman for the charity declined to say yet whether this would result in more job cuts.
