LAFR Chairman’s Report for
the 2009 AGM
It
has been something of a mixed year for the Lonach Area First Responders. We
finished the previous year with much frustration that we were not receiving the
training support needed from the Scottish Ambulance Service. These feelings
were alleviated by some new arrangements and appointments within the Ambulance
Service and there were promises of a more vigorous engagement with First
Responder organisations. Unfortunately re-postings and other commitments meant
the support was not as forthcoming as anticipated.
Nevertheless,
First Responder schemes have become a significant component of emergency
medical care nationwide. There are about 70 throughout
On
the subject of finances, these remain strong, and on the subject of numbers, we
should note that the number of volunteer responders on the Lonach Area list has
dipped marginally to 15. Yet, the LAFR team does include some new faces and has
continued to fill the out-of-hours gap with on-call responders covering weekday
nights and throughout the weekends. We are still indebted to those who provide
most of the cover, but need to recognise the value of the contribution of those
who can only provide one night a week. If we can encourage more people to offer
even this level of commitment, then the burden for all would be eased and the
community would benefit simply from having more people around who are trained
in first aid and basic life support.
In
addition to boosting numbers and providing the continuous out of hours cover,
the other objectives of the LAFR for the year ahead are much the same as before:
to keep up efforts to encourage extra training support from the Ambulance
Service, and to raise the profile of the LAFR within the community.
Even though the number of
callouts dropped noticeably last year on the previous year, the importance of
the service provided should be acknowledged. The key element being that
the LAFR scheme makes it more likely that early CPR and defibrillation will be available to those that need it.
These are critical elements that contribute to significantly increasing the
chances of survival for heart attack patients. Even if there was only one life
saving callout in a decade, it would still be worthwhile. And with this in
mind, it is important that the potential value of the responder scheme is not
underestimated by responders themselves as well as the wider community.
Rob Lowry
26th June 2009
Is the Lonach Area First
Responder scheme worth it?
By Robert Lowry (August 2008)
The
LAFR scheme might not have the highest of profiles, but it has continued to
provide a steady service to the local – and occasionally wider – community
since going live more than two years ago.
The
main aim of the scheme is to provide treatment to the injured or ill in the
first few minutes prior to the arrival of an ambulance, and Lonach responders
have attended an average of just over 1.5 callouts a month. Significantly, they
have arrived on the scene up to 40 minutes ahead of the ambulance, and when the
time from the initial call is added – which may be an extra 5 to 20 minutes –
it becomes evident that the Scottish Ambulance Service aim to provide early
access to emergency care is a tough challenge, even if they prioritise calls.
While
there is no intention to belittle the invaluable work of the Ambulance Service,
there is a need to recognise that their resources are limited and it seems
unlikely that they, or GP surgeries, will be in a position to provide
sufficient 24-hour cover to outlying regions like the Lonach area in the
foreseeable future. The importance and value of the LAFR should, therefore, be
clear, with the availability of trained volunteers equipped with oxygen
delivery systems and external defibrillators being the main strands of the LAFR
service.
The
LAFR has been able to fill the out-of-hours gap with on-call responders
covering weekday nights and throughout the weekends. This cover is sometimes
achieved only at a stretch and is very dependent on some core volunteers, yet
while there are 17 responders for the area, more promisingly there are others
awaiting training. It should be stressed that these are “volunteers”, and
perhaps more people should be encouraged to recognise they could be trained in
valuable life skills that might as soon be called on when they are not on
responder duty. Indeed, the responder team has recently helped pass on these
skills by providing some first aid training to school children.
The
LAFR is fortunate to have experienced trainers amongst its numbers. The LAFR
will, nevertheless, need to keep up efforts to encourage extra training support
and assessment, as well as material support, from the Ambulance Service if it
is to maintain a proficient service by volunteer personnel.
Financially
speaking, the LAFR certainly appears worth it. LAFR finances are in good shape,
and this is indicative of the generosity of local people and businesses, and
their recognition of the valuable service that is being provided. Yet, while
the LAFR raises funds as part of its charitable status, it has been argued by
some that these funds are in fact subsidising government efforts to meet
performance targets. However, curbing efforts to provide the important service
offered by the LAFR until more favourable financial support is received, should
not be an option - especially if one acknowledges the life-saving potential the
LAFR has in filling the so-called “therapeutic vacuum” between the time of a
999 call and the ambulance arriving.
If
you need urgent medical care, call 999 for an ambulance. During out-of-hours
periods, the Emergency Medical Dispatch Centre will notify the on-call Lonach
Area First Responders whilst an ambulance is also dispatched.
If
you feel the need to learn some valuable life skills, come and join the LAFR
team. To do this or to support the LAFR in other ways, please visit www.lonachresponders.org for more
details.
Is
it worth it? – YES.
First Responders by
So,
you’re in the Lonach area and you come across someone who is suffering a
heart attack, having breathing difficulties or is
unconscious. They need immediate medical help. What do you do?
Dialing 999 is the first thing to consider. You could phone the
doctor, but it’s out of hours. You could attempt to implement some of that
first aid training you had a few years back, but you’re not too sure.
Meanwhile,
you have to wait on an ambulance coming from Alford or Tomintoul, or even further afield if these are already dealing with other emergencies.
So you wait…perhaps pondering on statistics about ambulance response times and
chances of survival. Early access to emergency care, early cardio-pulmonary
resuscitation (CPR), and early defibrillation are all crucial components to the
widely-recognised Chain of Survival that greatly improves a heart attack
victim’s chances. So you wait for help to arrive.
The
first people through the door will more than likely be from the Lonach Area
First Responder Scheme. Earlier that evening the volunteers would
have picked up the first responder kit consisting of defibrillator, oxygen
and other first aid supplies. They would have signed on with the Ambulance
Control Centre before continuing with their normal family routines.
The
original 999 call would have prompted the dispatch of an ambulance to the
incident scene and the ambulance control centre would then mobilise two on-call
first responders. These volunteers will provide life saving treatment in the
minutes prior to the arrival of the ambulance.
The
Lonach Area First Responder (LAFR) scheme is a charitable entity that operates
under the auspices of the Scottish Ambulance Service. However, the LAFR scheme
is purely community funded, and as a result of the generosity of local people
and businesses, we have been able to establish two teams of first
responders, which provide cover for Corgarff,
Strathdon, Glenbuchat, Glenkindie,
Towie and Kildrummy. The
training of first responders is an ongoing - though not onerous - process and
includes instruction and assessment by the Scottish Ambulance Service.
The
on-duty responders are directed to attend incidents notably those involving
chest pains, breathing difficulties, suspected heart attacks and unconscious
casualties. Since going live in May 2006, Lonach Area First Responders have
attended around one call every four weeks – including a few outside the Lonach
area.
There
are currently 17 first responders providing out of hours cover: 1830 - 0800
weekdays, and round the clock on weekends and bank holidays. Although this
might seem adequate, we still need more people to come forward and
help us in any way they can to provide this invaluable life-saving
service to our communities.
If
you would like to find out more, please take a look at our website at http://www.lonachresponders.org.
This
article first appeared in the Lonach Programme - August 2007.
Lonach
Responders set to go live
The Lonach Area
First Responders have informed the Ambulance Operations Centre that they are
ready to become operational on Monday 22 May. The move follows the training of
17 volunteers in defibrillation and other life-saving techniques.
It is nearly a
year since a steering group was formed to set up the first responder scheme in
the rural Donside area where lengthy distances mean
that it is not always possible for the Scottish Ambulance Service to arrive at
an incident within the critical 8-minute period.
Various
fundraising events and generous donations have enabled the Lonach Responders to
purchase two kits – one based in Strathdon and the other in Towie
– each costing around £4,000. The kits comprise automatic external
defibrillators and oxygen as well as other basic first aid equipment.
19 May 2006