Friday 17th July 2014 – 3.30pm – Jamie Arrowsmith.
If you have ever fancied becoming a life-saver then you could be just the type of person Rugeley and District Community First Responders (CFRs) are looking out for.
CFRs help to reach people suffering from medical emergencies in remote rural communities, prior to the arrival of an ambulance and Rugeley CFRs are looking for new recruits to help bolster the number of life-savers amongst their ranks.
If you think you have what it takes, Rugeley CFRs would love to see you at a recruitment evening they are holding in the Community Room at Rugeley Fire Station on Friday, August 7th (7pm).
If life-saving is not for you, fund-raising might be more your thing and is an essential part of keeping the CFR group, which has been operation since August 2007, on the road. A registered charity, Rugeley CFRs have raised funds for the vehicle, equipment and uniforms they use, so you will be more than welcome to attend the recruitment evening if you think you can help.
In many illnesses or injuries the first few minutes are critical and simple interventions can be performed in order to save lives or prevent disability.
CFRs are trained by the ambulance service to a nationally recognised level. The First Person on Scene Intermediate qualification is delivered to new CFRs over a period of seven days. The week long course is assessed through a number of written and practical examinations. On successful completion of these, each CFR must undertake a number of observational shifts with ambulances crews before they are able to respond solo within their communities.
Victoria Tufail, WMAS Community Response Manager for Staffordshire, said: “West Midlands Ambulance Service prides itself on having excellent community schemes that are in place around the region. CFRs are vital in rural communities and it is without doubt that thanks to their efforts, dedication and actions, lives have been saved.
“CFRs can be called upon to attend to medical emergencies such as cardiac arrest, strokes, falls and breathing problems amongst others. With approximately 850,000 adults suffer a cardiac arrest every year and ninety percent of them have the ability to be corrected by defibrillation, the more quickly a patient in cardiac arrest can be defibrillated the greater the chance of survival. For every minute a patient is in cardiac arrest, their chance of survival decreases by 10 percent.”
If you are interested in becoming at CFR volunteer, you should be:
• Aged between 18 – 70
• Have a current clean driving licence
• Be physically fit
• Be able to provide time when you can to attend incidents whether at home or work
• Have a caring nature and be willing to help raise the profile of the schemes in local areas.
For more information, email coordinator@radcfr.com or call 07841 905917.
Ends
Notes to editors
The Community First Responder Schemes are entirely funded by charitable donations. Many CFRs actively carry out fundraising events to help raise money which goes towards funding responder kits, automated external defibrillators and some schemes even choose to purchase a car to aid them with their response.
Picture caption: Rugeley and District CFRs’ car.