Dear Member of the Community,
South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust has long subscribed to the fact that the quicker we can have a suitably trained person, with the appropriate equipment; to a member of the public during a life threatening emergency, the better the chance of survival and making a good recovery.
A Few years ago we launched a charity division called “Community Responders”, this initiative depends on members of the community volunteering within their local area to respond to emergencies giving lifesaving treatment prior to the ambulance arriving.
Volunteers are given 2 full days of training at one of our training Centre’s, explaining how to recognize and treat many life threatening medical emergencies, ranging from cardiac arrest to strokes in the elderly down to infants, to name but a few of the situations the volunteers may face.
Once they have successfully completed the course they are supplied with an Automated External Defibrillator, breathing equipment and a mobile phone. The volunteer responders can then respond, to an emergency in their local community and tend to the needs of the most vulnerable, whilst an ambulance is on route. Due to the close proximity of the volunteer responder to the emergency they are very often first on scene and their actions can directly affect the
outcome of the patient, this will have an impact on the lives of the their family and friends within your community.
We are currently looking for volunteers to be a part of this lifesaving scheme to help within your community. Do you have a few hours a week to spare? No prior medical knowledge required as full training is given.
If you would like to find out more then visit our website http://www.southcentralambulance.nhs.uk/get-involved/howdoivolunteer.ashx
Or get in touch by email cfr@scas.nhs.uk or derek.flint@scas.nhs.uk
Tel 07768635501