On the 28th May the Angmering Parish Council meeting took place, where Arundel and South Downs MP, Andrew Griffith, had an interesting chat with Sally, Karen & Nik from Worthing & District Community First Responders (CFRs).
CFRs are all volunteer members of their local community who are trained to respond to emergency calls in conjunction with the South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust. They are trained in resuscitation techniques, first aid, oxygen therapy and more. They respond within the community using equipment supplied by the ambulance service or purchased from donations.
As they respond in the local areas where they live and work, they are able to attend the scene of an emergency within a few minutes, and often before the emergency service arrives. They are able to offer valuable life-saving first aid further increasing the patient’s chances of survival.
Worthing & District Community First Responders volunteered a total of 210 hours during March and attended 80 emergency calls on behalf of South East Coast Ambulance Service. This included 175 hours of responding to 999 calls, and 35 hours of other duties including CPR & Defibrillator familiarization sessions, checking Public Access Defibrillators, annual assessments for other teams, and a third manning shift on an ambulance.
Andrew Griffith commented:
"It was wonderful to meet some of the First Responder team and learn about the inspiring and life-saving work that they do for the community. If anyone is interested in volunteering, this is an incredibly worthwhile way of giving your time."
To find out more about volunteering with Community First Responders please visit https://www.secamb.nhs.uk/joi.../community-first-responders/.
Notes
1. To find out more about Community First Responders please visit https://www.secamb.nhs.uk/joi.../community-first-responders/
2. For more info on Angmering Parish Council go to https://www.angmering-pc.gov.uk
