A WA town's ambulance service is having to turn down jobs as volunteer numbers dwindle.
St John Kojonup is urgently seeking volunteers to respond in emergencies and assist with patient transfers in the Great Southern town about 300 kilometres south-east of Perth.
Group chair Peter Holland said over the past year, numbers had reduced.
"We are getting fairly urgent about what we need in the way of volunteers as people move on to other towns.
The Kojonup subcentre is particularly in need of drivers.
"When we get transferred between hospitals, which is where the drivers come in handy, we have to actually turn those jobs down and pass them on to other subcentres because we just don't have the numbers," said Mr Holland.
Kojonup has also lost many experienced volunteers over the past 12 months, which has made things even more difficult.
"So we're really trying to chase some numbers that actually live in town as well to help us out," Mr Holland said.
Anne Parsons, an emergency medical technician at nearby St John subcentre in Cranbrook, said only one of their volunteers lived in town.
"We only have one volunteer who lives in Cranbrook, and three others who work in town during the day," she said.
Ms Parsons said she lived 10km away.
Young volunteers needed
It can be difficult engaging young people, said Mr Holland.
"They've got sport, they've got other things they're doing, and I guess they don't fully understand St John's isn't a full-time commitment.
Mr Holland said a roster system was created for night shifts to ensure people could plan a social life, and if someone was not available shifts could be swapped.
Ms Parsons said she was concerned not enough young people were volunteering.
