Drive for more local lifesavers (From Basingstoke Gazette)

Drive for more local lifesavers

9:00am Wednesday 22nd February 2012 in News By Helen Morton

LIFESAVING volunteers are needed in the Basingstoke area.

Community First Responders help to save countless lives every year, providing medical support and assistance before the arrival of an ambulance.

In many cases, they are called on to provide CPR and defibrillation after a cardiac arrest, without which a patient’s chance of survival would plummet by 14 per cent each minute.

The Oakley Community Responder Scheme is one of the groups in the Basingstoke area looking for volunteers to come forward.

Julie Philips, 50, was one of the original members of the Oakley scheme, which started 10 years ago. She has been volunteering for the group ever since.

Mrs Philips, who is the scheme co-ordinator, said’: “We have become an established group over the last 10 years and are now well-embedded into the local area and surrounding areas.

“We currently have 10 active Community Responders and are looking for new people to come and join us.

“We come from varied backgrounds, encompassing students, working and retired people.

“The reason we do this is we want to support our community and be there in their hour of need.”

Volunteers are trained by South Central Ambulance Service in basic life-saving skills during a full weekend of training at an ambulance base following some preliminary reading.

Participants are taught the basics of the human body before focusing on basic life-support techniques including CPR and the use of a defibrillator. Volunteers are required to requalify every six months.

To find out more about volunteering as a Community First Responder in the area, email cfr.scas.nhs.uk or ring 0800 587 0207.