Resident's blog - Paul's saving lives

On behalf of all those lives he’s saved, we’d like to say a huge thank you to Lightmoor Village resident Paul, who is a Telford First Responder. We met him recently and found out more about his life-saving role:

How long have you lived in Lightmoor Village?

Well, my wife has been here since 2016 but I only officially moved here full-time in 2019 because I was in the army.

What did you do in the army?
I was helicopter crew, which included medical evacuations and so as part of the role I was medically trained.

So, becoming a first responder was an obvious choice then?

I had the notion that when I retired from the army I’d be glad to relax but I soon got bored and so looked for something to occupy my time. I found out about Telford First Responders and signed up and also work for a private ambulance company that provides medical support at events.

What is it like being a Telford First Responder?

It’s a rewarding role, no two days are the same. I joined over a year ago and have been called on three occasions to residents in Lightmoor Village, so it’s a privilege to be able support my own community.

Can anybody join Telford First Responders?

Telford First Responders is a life-saving partnership of volunteers working with West Midlands Ambulance Service, so the NHS usually advertise vacancies two or three times a year but as well as front line responders, support is also needed behind the scenes.

When are First Responders called out?

When a 999 call is received, an ambulance response is dispatched. At the same time, a first responder on-call in the area can be alerted and asked to attend the incident to ensure that help reaches the patient as quickly as possible. We are trained to provide life-saving treatment to patients in the vital first few minutes of an emergency until an ambulance crew arrives. If effective treatment is provided quickly, lives can be saved and disability reduced. This is especially true for cardiac arrest heart attacks and medical conditions which have caused someone to lose consciousness.

How are the Telford First Responders funded?

People are surprised to find that all Community First Response teams are completely self-funded. Although the Ambulance Service provides all necessary support, training and consumables, each CFRs must raise funds to pay for their uniform, equipment and vehicles. It takes around £1500 to fully kit out a Responder, and we also have a distinctive 4×4 response vehicle which cost £20,000 to buy and equip and around £2000 per year to run. We therefore rely on sponsors and donations and recently we’ve been very grateful to receive a donation of £1,500 from Barratt homes.

If you’d like to find out more about Telford First Responders, you can visit http://telfordcfrs.org/

We’d love to share more about our residents involvement in the community, so please get in touch if you would like to feature by emailing [email protected]