In May the Ely Community First Responders celebrated their 5 year anniversary. The group has eleven active First Responders that attend local 999 calls to give life saving support to patients until the ambulance arrives. Six of the current Responders joined when the group first formed in 2007. In a typical month the Responders attend to 14-25 patients and volunteer up to 600 hours a month. For an
example of a typical month, in March they attended 14 calls, 7 heart related or chest pain, 2 unconscious, 1 minor bleed, 2 falls, 1 seizure and 1 breathing problem. Responders attend calls at any time of the day or night in patients homes or outside in public areas. The Community First Responders work alongside and are trained by the Ambulance staff to help ensure that patients receive the care they need quickly. Emma Greaves coordinator for the Ely Responders said, ‘We have had a fantastic five years and the group has gone from strength to strength. We have had a lot of support from the public helping with funding new equipment, raising our profile and getting new groups out in the surrounding villages. The feedback from the patients has been very positive and we are thrilled that we are out there making a difference and saving lives. We are also very lucky to have tremendous support from the local Ely paramedics and ambulance staff. In the past five years we have seen two of our responders highly commended for the volunteer awards, help set up two new groups with two more on the way, we have gone to schools and events to teach the public emergency life support skills and to demonstrate what we do and the equipment we use. We are lucky to have a very strong team so we confident that we will be able to keep the first responder service available to the residents in Ely for the foreseeable future.’
For more information contact Emma Greaves at [email protected]
