People sometimes ask us what sort of incidents we get called to ~ do we only go to those that the Ambulance Service consider not worth sending an ambulance to?
Most certainly not is the answer. If there is an ambulance 999 call in our area and we are on duty ~ we get sent. In fact we are probably at our most valuable when there is a dire emergency because we can get to an incident far faster than an ambulance.
For example, if you or a relative had a heart attack we could be on the scene in minutes: our vehicle carries the same resuscitation equipment as an ambulance crew, and our volunteers are fully trained to use it.
We hope we won’t have to use it, for you or anybody else, but if we do, the time saved in getting to you could mean the difference between life or death. Read more about this lower down the page
Saving time can save lives
Living as we do in a rural community, this aspect of emergency assistance is particularly relevant. It can often take an ambulance or paramedic some considerable time to reach the more remote parts of the Moorlands, so the existence of village based First Responder Groups means that medical help can arrive within minutes: a time difference that can mean the difference between life or death for the patient.
For example, it is a well researched fact* that for a patient who has suffered a heart attack, the chance of a successful recovery is closely related to the time between the onset of the attack and the start of treatment.
We do not of course replace the regular Ambulance Service. When you dial 999, the control room will dispatch a First Responder team (if available) in addition to the ambulance. It is simply that, because of our proximity, we can arrive sooner, and start procedures that may save precious time, and with it, a life.
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*Dr Richard Cummins from Seattle, USA discovered that if a series of events took place in a set sequence, a heart attack victim has a greater chance of survival. These events are known as "the chain of survival".
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Early access. The sooner 999 is dialled, the sooner treatment can commence. Whilst CPR is important, early treatment with a defibrillator and Advanced life support are crucial in survival and therefore the sooner 999 is dialled, the better
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Early CPR. CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) attempts to keep the casualty oxygenated until more advanced treatment is available. Breathing for the casualty provides Oxygen into the lungs (and thence into the bloodstream). Chest compressions then circulate the oxygen-enriched blood around the body to where it is required. CPR on its own will not restart a heart. However, it will buy some time until a defibrillator arrives.
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Early Defibrillation. When a heart initially stops following a heart attack, it actually enters an uncontrolled state where electrical activity is buzzing around randomly rather that the ordered activity found in normal operation. A defibrillator applies an electrical shock to the heart which momentarily stops it. The heart has an inbuilt pacemaker and following the shock, it will attempt to re-establish control of the heart and start beating regularly.
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Early ALS (Advanced Life Support). Treatment with drugs such as Adrenaline and with fluids in the case of severe blood loss will all assist in treatment. The sooner these are applied, the better the chance of survival.
A casualty that has this chain of events occurring soon after a heart attack will have the greatest chance of survival. If any links in the chain are missing, the chances of survival will be decreased..
As a volunteer service, the amount of cover we can provide depends entirely on the number of trained volunteers we have. Ideally we would like a 24/7 coverage for our community, but to do this we need more Responders to fill the on-call rota. |
| According to our constitution, we serve 'Waterhouses Parish and the surrounding area'. When on call, our ambulance & duty Responders will be stationed somewhere within Waterhouses village. However, until we can provide 24/7 cover, there will be times when we are not on duty. In the event of an emergency at such a time, a First Responder team from a neighbouring village will be sent if Ambulance Control deems it necessary. (As happened before we had a group in Waterhouses) This of course means a slightly longer response time, as their team will have to travel a greater distance. Correspondingly, we may get sent to incidents outside our ‘area’ if we happen to be the only available Responder Team on call. |
The solution is to have more trained responders of our own.
Currently we have nine volunteer first responders,
Why not join?
Please visit the 'Training' page (button below) if you would like to consider becoming a Responder,
and you would like to know more about what it involves
