South Shropshire Community First Reponders meet MP

Philip Dunne, MP for Ludlow, met local Community First Responders Julie Oliver, Roger Price and John Caine. Also present were Dawn Bush (CFR scheme co-ordinator for Shropshire), Cliff Medlicott (Community Response Manager for Shropshire) and Joy Hughes, formerly a CFR and now a qualified paramedic.

The volunteers explained why and how they became Community First Responders, mainly as a result of seeing an appeal in a local newspaper.

Mr Dunne said: “I was impressed by the extent of First Responder coverage now in place across Shropshire and the commitment of those involved. The training clearly gives confidence to volunteers to provide immediate emergency help to local people in medical need. I encourage anyone who wants to help their local community to consider becoming a First Responder volunteer.”

Julie Oliver said: “I decided to put something back into the community.”

John Caine added: “It’s a good idea, especially in a rural community. It is a definite lifesaver and it needs supporting.”

Dawn Bush said: “We are able to provide medical treatment to stabilise the patient and then be backed-up by the ambulance service. This is a group of people really keen to give something back and get, if nothing more than, a fuzzy feeling.”

Roger Price described how, after his training, he had to use a defibrillator “in anger” on a member of his own family. He said: “You switch off and do it in anger. You think ‘where do I start?’ and you get on with it.”

Community First Responders are everyday members of the public from all walks of life who are trained by West Midlands Ambulance Service in lifesaving techniques including the use of a defibrillator, a device used to restart the heart of someone who has suffered a cardiac arrest. They may be sent by the ambulance service’s control centre to a medical emergency while an ambulance resource is en-route.

Describing the make-up of the scheme in Shropshire, Cliff Medlicott said: “There are 144 active CFRs in the county. More than 50% of CFRs have more than five years experience. Recruitment is always ongoing. In addition we now have 249 public access defibrillators in Shropshire with an average ten people trained at each site to use them.”

For more information about the work of Community First Responders, or to become one yourself, contact Cliff Medlicott on 07884 050877 or the CFR Admin Office on 01743 273677 or CFRAdmin@wmas.nhs.uk or visit www.wmas.nhs.uk and enter “Community First Responder” in the search field.