Awbridge First Responders held their 3rd AGM on February 12th. This gave us an opportunity to reflect on the past 3 years and everything that has been achieved. Not only by the existing Responders but also the Responders who started the group, the fundraisers and everyone who supported us with their donations and time, attending our jumble sale, barn dance, quiz night and various coffee mornings.

After 3 years our finances are in good shape, we have 2 full kits and a full training kit. The only missing element is Responders. We still desperately need volunteers to ensure full rota cover. At present we can only cover 3 nights some weeks, with some Responders covering many more rota slots than the minimum requirement.

Are you a reluctant volunteer because you are unsure of exactly what is involved? Although we are very fortunate to have some nurses as Responders, the majority of us have absolutely no previous medical experience. South Central Ambulance ensures that all Responders are adequately trained, initially with a 2 day course and then follow ups every 6 months with requalifications. Responders always operate in pairs at night and are only directed to appropriate calls by the Ambulance Service with full support if required.

My last call illustrates perfectly the skills needed for the majority of the calls we have attended. The incident involved a very elderly person who had fallen. I was able to offer oxygen to help ease their pain but all they wanted was my hand and reassurance that I was not going to leave them. If you were alone how grateful would you be to hold some-ones hand?

Please if you have a spare hand, we need you.

Kay Murrant - 01794 340289 email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Meetings 19th March / 9th April / 7th May 7.30pm Awbridge Village Hall

Awbridge First Responders would like to wish all villagers a very Happy and Healthy 2009.

Despite our numbers being depleted over the last year we are still able to cover most evenings and thanks needs to be given to those volunteers who give up even more of their free time. Our appeals for more volunteers have lead to interest from 2 people and we hope they will feel able to join us shortly, we do need more volunteers to spread the load so please attend one of our monthly meetings and discover what is involved.

South Central Ambulance Service introduced a new computer programme into their communications centre during October and as a result there has been a significant drop in the number of calls that Responders have been asked to attend across the entire region. Please remember Awbridge First Responders can only attend an incident on the instruction of the Ambulance Communications Centre, we have to wait for them. However if you have had to make a 999 call for an ambulance since October and wondered why an Awbridge First Responder did not arrive please let me know.

Finally I feel that after 3 years in the role it is time to appoint a new co-ordinator. I intend to remain as a Responder and will obviously be able to provide advice and support for whoever takes over the post. The co-ordinator is more of an administrative role and would easily suit some-one who is not a Responder, please look at the job description and decide if you could fit the role.

                                   Job Description for Co-Ordinator
 
Duties:
1)    Organise and chair monthly update and sign-up meetings with Awbridge First Responders
2)    Attend regular South Central Ambulance Services Trust meetings to discuss problems and be updated as primary link between the Awbridge First Responders Scheme and the Trust
3)    Organise 6 monthly requalification tests ( practical & theory) in agreement with Community Responder Training Officers
4)    Provide induction advice to potential new recruits
5)    Act as point of contact/spokesperson and deal with queries
6)    Hold stock and consumables on an as need basis
7)    Check Financial statements with Treasure and ensure audit is carried out
8)    Follow-up on call outs as appropriate with First Responders
9)    Provide Regular updates for Awbridge Village Newsletter/Website
10)    Assume responsibility for encouraging adequate rota cover


SKILLS REQUIRED

1)    Good communications skills
2)    Computer literacy (email/Microsoft Office skills) access to PC/Printer
3)    Car Driver
 

It is with great sadness that Awbridge First Responders loose 4 of our volunteers from September. Thanks need to be given to, Jill Clark, Pauline Lightfoot, Sue Taylor and Sue Wheeler for all their hard work and time given to the village.

This leaves a large hole in our group and we desperately need more volunteers to cover our Rota Shifts. Unfortunately we have already missed 3 calls during August and 2 calls during September, with fewer volunteers we could miss further calls. I hope you are not in a situation where you need immediate help and we are unable to respond. We are dispatched at the same time as an Ambulance but as we are in the village our response time is very quick and the early intervention of oxygen really can make a difference between life and death.

Our next meetings are scheduled for October 23rd and November 20th from 7.30pm in Awbridge Village Hall. Please feel free to come along and find out exactly what is involved in becoming a First Responder. During these last couple of years we really have made a difference.

Contact – Kay Murrant Co-Ordinator – 01794 340289

Email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Thank you to all who attended our AGM on Feb 14th – the officers of the group have agreed to remain in their posts for the next year making this their third. Basic Life Support is something that we feel everyone should understand and be able to put into practice – we hope to be able to provide demonstrations to as many village groups as possible so please contact us if you think your group would be interested.

The start to 2008 has been busy with 6 potential calls compared to 7 during the same time span last year. Please could we remind villagers to make sure outside lights are put on and gates opened if you do make an emergency call – these little things really do make a difference to the Response Time.

We do try to cover as many hours as we can and most nights are covered but the school holidays inevitably lead to gaps and we would ask anyone interested in becoming a Responder to contact us or simply attend one of our meetings. The age requirements for a Responder are 18 – 75 the basic Training takes place at the Ambulance Headquarters in Winchester and lasts for 2 days the induction dates for this year are

Sat 29th & Sun 30th March - Sat 26th & Sun 27th April

Sat 24th & Sun 25th May - Sat 28th June & Sun 29th June

The Training is thorough but not too onerous as Responders are there to compliment not replace the Ambulance or Paramedics. The most rewarding part of being a Responder is providing reassurance to people who are alone and vulnerable. Our local knowledge ensures we can respond quickly to a call and help guide the ambulance to the correct address. Awbridge First Responders have been active since October 2006 and have responded to 60 calls to date. We want to continue helping but need more people to volunteer and become part of the group – the minimum requirement is 2 shifts per month and we need cover during the day not just at night. If you are interested in becoming a Responder our next meeting is Thurs 13th March 7.30pm Awbridge Village Hall or contact:

Kay Murrant – 01794 340289 – alternatively you may wish to look at Community Responders website: www.hampshireambulance.nhs.uk/communityresponders

Lastly a special Thank You to Alex Hillier for organising the rotas.

A very Happy and Healthy New Year to all villagers. December was our busiest month for calls with 8 being attended and 2 missed calls due to lack of cover. Whilst we do our upmost to cover as many hours as possible invariably there are times when we have no cover. The 2 missed calls were during the day and as many of our volunteers work cover, during the day is unfortunately limited. However out of the 8 calls attended, 1 was out of our area and 2 were outside rota cover but fortunately a Responder was able to attend.s

We need more volunteers to cover hours during the day – if you feel able, please come along to our Coffee Morning on 24th January, 10.30 – 12.00 and find out exactly what is involved in the role of a Community Responder. Alternatively please contact me by phone or email and I will gladly answer any queries.

Lastly a very big Thank You to all Responders who provided valuable cover during the Christmas and New Year Holiday – South Central Ambulance Service greatly appreciated our efforts during this very busy time.

This month has been slightly more busy for the Responders and we are grateful for all villagers ensuring house names are legible and any outside or house lights are on as we attend a call during these darker evenings. It is also extremely helpful to provide the Responders with as much information concerning the casualty as possible, especially if they are on medication.

South Central Ambulance Service are currently undergoing lots of changes and these inevitably influence Responders and the types of calls we are requested to attend. However the Training Programme is continuing to develop and we are fortunate to have the advice and experience of David Grice who lives in Cadnam. David is a retired paramedic with over 40 years experience.He is going to be attending a number of our meetings to encourage more training and discuss his own experiences as a long serving Responder.

To find out more about the Responders please feel free to attend our next meeting, Thursday 22nd November 7.30pm in the village hall or contact us on the details below.

We now have 22 volunteer First Responders from all areas of the village and the possibility of another 2 joining us later in the year. We have been operational for over 6 months now and a call out analysis prepared for our first 6 month period from 2nd October 2006 to 31st March 2007 has shown some surprising figures. 31 potential emegrency calls were made from our area during this period and 23 were attended. This level has surprised us as South Central Ambulance Service advised us to expect 10 calls for the whole year.

We try to cover as much of the day as we can but are all volunteers with work and busy family lives to attend to, however 13% of the calls we attended were actually when we were not officially logged on but because we had the kit we responded to the call. This highlights the very high level of care and commitment of Awbridge First Responders.

Please remember we can only attend an emergency if requested to do so by the Ambulance Service - a 999 call is made to the Ambulance Service if it is in our area and what they consider to be appropriate First Responders will be dispatched at the same time as an Ambulance Crew.

Our next meeting is Thurs 7th June 7.30pm in the village hall We will have stall at the school fete Sat 16th June 12-3pm
Joint BBQ with the Church Fri 20th July

Please come along to any or all of these events to find out exactly what we do and discover how easy it is to join us. Please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it for further details

Contact details:

Coffee morning / Table top Sale Friday 31ST March 10.30am Awbridge Village Hall

Monies raised to date – 15/2 - £2,000.00 thank you to all who have donated Roke Manor have kindly donated £100.00 to fund. Forthcoming events W.I. St Georges Day event Sat 22nd April Village Hall all proceeds to First Responder Quiz Night/Grand Draw in May date to be advised

Awbridge are in the process of setting up a First Responder group and are looking for volunteers in the community to undergo training to enable them to attend emergency calls received by the Ambulance service.

The first responder will provide first aid until an ambulance arrives.

If you would be able to offer help please contact Kay Murrant on 340289.