What is a First Responder?
The First Responder Scheme is
a Cumbria Ambulance Service initiative, designed to save lives
and improve the chances of recovery for anyone who collapses
from a medical condition.
The scheme supports the work of the Ambulance Service by
enabling local volunteers, called First Responders, to arrive
quickly at the scene when a person collapses, and give help
and support to the patient and to their family until the
ambulance arrives. First Responders are fully trained in the
use of a defibrillator and cardio-pulmonary resuscitation.
First Responders may be called out when the Ambulance Service
has been told that the patient is feeling giddy, has
difficulty in breathing, has choked or collapsed or is in
danger of having drowned. They are not called out when the
patient has suffered some form of trauma, such as in an
accident with machinery or a car crash, or when the patient is
a child, mainly because dealing with these situations requires
advanced medical skills.
A few of the Dentdale First Responders are fully-qualified
first aiders, who may be able to offer immediate assistance if
they are around when someone collapses. In the main, however,
the First Responders need to be alerted via a 999 call to the
emergency services.
How does
the scheme work?
When
the Ambulance Service receives a 999 call, it responds as
usual and at the same time, using a pager and phone system,
alerts the First Responder team. The First Responders reach
the patient as quickly as possible, and use their equipment
and training to keep the patient in a stable condition until
the ambulance arrives.
How was the Dentdale
scheme
set up?
It was the Dentdale W.I. who
originally came up with the idea for a Dentdale First
Responders team, to celebrate 60 years of the W.I. in Dentdale
in 2003. Although the W.I. did the initial planning and
fund-raising for the scheme, it handed over to a new committee
in March 2004. The Dentdale First Responders team formally
went ‘live' in September 2004.
Fund
raising:
Laurence Luckham giving a 'French Food' demonstration
recently
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Fund-raising has been very
successful, with over £12,000 being raised from special
fundraising events, individual donations and grants.
Local business have supported the scheme by allowing
staff to be released to act as First Responders during
work hours, and retailers have helped with discounts on
equipment.
Volunteers needed!
The setting up of the
scheme was a magnificent community achievement, but now
that it is up and running, more people are needed to
train as First Responders, act as committee members and
come up with good fundraising ideas to meet the
continuing costs of the scheme.
If you are
able to contribute in any way,
or would like to find out more about the scheme,
please contact: Jenny Pilgrim 25560
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