West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) teamed up with the OurJay Foundation to Install OurJay’s 155th AED (defibrillator) outside of Paddox Cycles shop, in Rugby. AEDs are pieces of equipment used to restart the heart, in a cardiac arrest incident.
Read More “LIFESAVING AED INSTALLED DURING OUR ‘LET US SEE YOUR AED’ CAMPAIGN”
For Peter Corr, the 12th of September 2019 started like any other day, however, during an early morning run Peter suffered an out of hospital cardiac arrest, that statistically should have ended his life.
However, thanks to the swift actions of Melissa Williams, 4 and a half years on, Peter and Melissa have been able to recount what they call ‘that day’ in Peter’s family home, which he shares with his wife and three children, in Telford.
Read More “Melissa Has Given Me the Gift of ‘Life Part Two’”
West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) proudly launches social media campaign ‘Let Us See Your AED’ to encourage the registration of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs), also known as Defibrillators, on the British Heart Foundation’s ‘The Circuit’. AEDs are life-saving pieces of equipment used to shock a cardiac arrest patient’s heart.
Read More “Over 2700 AEDs in the West Midlands Not Registered on The Circuit”
Telford Community First Responder (CFR) Becky has taken on the challenge of a cold water swim every day in February to raise money for the Telford Community First Responders Scheme.
After smashing her original target of £500, Becky is now hoping to raise a total of £1000 for the scheme as she battles water temperatures below 10c.
Community First Responders volunteer their time to support WMAS crews by responding to the most critically ill patients in order to provide life-saving medical aid, in often time critical situations. CFR Schemes are entirely self-funded and rely on donations for the community in order to operate.
Read More “Community First Responder Becky’s Cold-Water Challenge”
You just never know what the day will bring! It’s a comment that you would hear from any ambulance crew, but now the public will get to see just what our staff face with the new series of “999: On the Frontline” set to hit our TV screens.
The programme, which returns for it’s tenth series, follows crews from West Midlands Ambulance Service as they race to save lives and help people in their hour of need.
Elena Lewis – 19th January 2024 – 3.20pm.
West Midlands Ambulance Service’s very own Clinical Validation Team Paramedic, Zoe Mcintosh is set to take on the Gladiators this Saturday (20th) on BBC1 at 5:50pm.
After a rigorous selection process, Zoe was cast as a contender alongside a handful of other applicants, from thousands of people who applied.
Zoe, who has worked for the Trust since 2018, said: “I wanted to follow in my dad’s footsteps as he applied to take part in the original Gladiators in 1998, and the whole experience was amazing.
“The filming took place in front of thousands. Fortunately, my family, friends and work colleagues were there to cheer me on.
“I took part in several games during filming and my strength and speed was truly tested against the Gladiators. It was so much fun and a great experience. I hope everyone enjoys watching the show and I make all of WMAS proud.”
Zoe started her career as a paramedic in Staffordshire, before moving to one of WMAS’s Emergency Operations Centres, in the Black Country, to work in the Clinical Validation Team. The team triage some category 2 and all category 3 and 4 calls. This is a vital part of our Trust and helps provide patients with the right care at the right time for their medical need.
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Notes to Editors
Credit to BBC for supplying group photo.
Nearly 70% of cardiac arrests happen within 500 meters of a school and there is a requirement for all state schools to have access to a Defibrillator, but what happens when the school is closed and access to the defibrillator becomes limited?
Paramedic, Alice Jones alongside charity OurJay Foundation made it their mission to place a brand-new Defibrillator in Walsall at Walsall Academy on Thursday (7th December) on the outside of the school making the Defibrillator accessible all year round, day and night.
Read More “Lifesaving defibrillator installed outside Walsall Academy”
Elena Lewis – Monday 13th November 2023 – 8.00am.
The extraordinary efforts of West Midlands Ambulance Service’s (WMAS) Emergency Operations Centres (EOC) are evident. So far this year, Call Assessors in the Trust’s EOC have answered emergency 999 calls in just two seconds on average.
Both EOC bases in Brierley Hill and in Stafford have answered a combined total of over 1,365,117 ‘999 calls’ so far this year. Answering 173,834 ‘999 calls’ in October alone. With this huge volume of calls being answered, call answering time has not faltered.
Call Assessors, Dispatch staff and Clinical Validation Team (CVT) work tirelessly to provide around the clock, outstanding care to people of the West Midlands. Additionally, West Midlands Ambulance Service’s EOC answer emergency 999 calls for ambulance services across the country where there is a requirement for support with ongoing demand.
West Midlands Ambulance Service’s Integrated Emergency and Urgent Care & Performance Director, Jeremy Brown said: “A call answering time of two seconds, on average, is a remarkable effort and is one that doesn’t go unnoticed.
“This has displayed, once again, the dedication and commitment our team puts into every single shift to delivery outstanding patient care, in what has been a significantly testing time for the service.
“We are at the starting point of a patient’s journey and need to do everything we possibly can to give the best care to our patients in their hour of need.”
This week, West Midlands Ambulance Service will be sharing an insight into their two Emergency Operations Centres and some of the incredible staff within them with the upcoming launch of the campaign ‘Is the Patient Breathing?’.
The campaign aims to raise awareness about what is happening behind the scenes when a 999 call is made and shows the contrasts between an emergency Category 1 response, and cases where an ambulance is not required but the most appropriate care referral is made.
To find out more about ‘Is the Patient Breathing?’ head to What happens when you call 999? – West Midlands Ambulance Service University NHS Foundation Trust (wmas.nhs.uk) and keep an eye on @OfficialWMAS social media pages on Facebook, Instagram, X and Thread
Notes to editors
Yearly call figures are accurate as of 08/11/23.
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Elena Lewis – Friday 16th June 2023 – 9:00am.
Ashley and Loggerheads’ Community First Responder (CFR) are thrilled to be swapping their 10-year-old scheme car for a brand new, 4×4 Volvo.
The brand-new vehicle which allows CFRs to reach patients in more challenging areas and in all weather conditions is with thanks to the generosity of their local community, a grant from The National Lottery Community Fund and James Du Pavey Estate Agents
CFRs, who volunteer in their local communities across the West Midlands attend to some of the most seriously ill patients to assist ambulance staff with life-saving treatment. They can be vital in reaching patients who are suffering from medical emergencies such as cardiac arrests, as quickly as possible, particularly in rural communities.
One of Ashley and Loggerheads’ CFRs Simon Crofts said: “Being a CFR is a big responsibility, we get to meet wonderful people in our community at sometimes what could be the worst moments of their lives.
“Supporting the ambulance service, in the way we do, getting to those patients a little sooner gives them a better chance of survival and reassures them and their family at their time of need, its hugely rewarding.
“Being a CFR means giving a little of your time to give others a chance to have more of their own.”
Not only do CFRs act as lifesavers, they also train people to save lives. CFR volunteers often hold CPR and defibrillation sessions within their local communities. If you would like to learn more about your local CFR scheme, or want to learn how CFRs can teach you to save a life, find out more here.
Notes to editors:
Link to Community First Responders page https://wmas.nhs.uk/wmas-services/community-first-responders/
Group photo with CFRs and Sponsors James Du Pavey Estate Agents
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Elena Lewis – 22nd May 2023 – 2:20pm.
For Paul Brain, 2020 could have ended very differently after he suffered a cardiac arrest in December, but thanks to the lifesaving interventions of West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) paramedics Tugce Yilmaz and Darren Neeld, he survived and returned home to his family at the end of January.
Mr Brain, a liver transplant and cancer survivor was only 67 at the time of his cardiac arrest, thankfully recognising the strong chest pains he was suffering as a need to call 999 for help. At the time of the call he thought he was suffering a heart attack, but he went on to arrest in front of ambulance staff.
During an emotional reunion with Tugce and Darren, Mr Brain, from Castle Bromwich, said: “I have been waiting more than two years for this moment, when I get to thank you for saving my life.
“I suffered a further cardiac arrest in hospital, as well as a stroke.
“I have now recovered with no ill effects whatsoever, but none of this would have been possible if it were not for their fast and professional actions, and hard work.
“I appreciate how beautiful the blue sky is and how green the grass is every day now, thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
Mr Brain’s wife added: “Thank you for giving me this extra time with my husband.
“I want all frontline ambulance staff to know how much we appreciate what they do, we really do!”
Only 1 in 10 people survive an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, as any delay to administering CPR majorly decreases the chance of survival. Tugce recognised the impact of being able to administer CPR straight away had on saving Mr Brain’s life: “This case is forever seared in my memory, as many cases we attend are unremarkable but this one will stay with me forever.
“To find out that there has been such a happy outcome means the world to me, and it has reminded me that the job we do can be so important to people”.
Knowing the signs of a heart attack and the signs of a cardiac arrest can save people’s lives, as well as being able to affectively administer CPR. Would you know how to give lifesaving CPR? For more information on CPR click the link here.
Notes
Link for information on CPR Learn how to save a life – CPR | British Heart Foundation – BHF
Link for cardiac arrest information https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/conditions/cardiac-arrest
Link for heart attack information https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/conditions/heart-attack
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Elena Lewis – Friday 21st April – 11:30am
A man from Telford who suffered an out of hospital cardiac arrest in 2019 is running a 50-mile ultra-marathon tomorrow (Saturday) to raise money for his local Community First Responder Scheme.
Peter Corr, who suffered a cardiac arrest on his daily run in 2019, was saved by two passers-by who started lifesaving CPR on him before an ambulance crew arrived.
After learning how important immediate CPR is for a patient’s survival, Peter decided to give the gift of life to others by becoming a Community First Responder (CFRs). CFRs are members of the public who play a vital role within the ambulance service, providing potentially lifesaving medical aid, before an ambulance can reach a patient.
Previously running marathons before his cardiac arrest and completing a 5km run last year, Peter, along with his running partner Dave Isaac, is taking on his biggest challenge yet, running 50-miles along the T50 footpath in Telford, something he has previously described as: “a ridiculous thing to do”.
Peter stressed the importance of everyone learning CPR: “Roughly one in ten people who suffer a cardiac arrest outside of hospital will survive as a result of quick and early medical intervention.
“I really would encourage everyone to learn CPR as well as how to use a defibrillator and to then ‘have a go’ if the situation ever arises.
“Everyone of us, adults and children, have the potential to be a life saver and I am absolute proof of this.
“The passers-by who decided to ‘have a go’ when I was having a cardiac arrest had a life changing impact on me and my family.”
Nick Freeman, Telford’s CFR co-ordinator said: “I’ve seen with my own eyes the impact having CFRs in a community can make, because getting to patients early can be the difference between life and death.
“There are many opportunities over the coming months to learn how to properly administer CPR and learn to use a defibrillator through Telford CFRs CPR and defibrillation sessions. There’s a CPR session in Ironbridge’s ‘Silver Over the Bridge’ event on Sunday 30th April, and we will be at Lawley Coronation Carnival on Sunday 7th of May.”
Get in touch with Telford CFRs by the ‘Contact Us’ page on their website Home – (telfordcfrs.org)
A link to the GoFundMe for Peter’s race is https://gofund.me/98218f00
