Co-Responders

Regular readers of this blog may well already know that the Swanage Coastguard Team are to become ‘Co-Responders / Community Responders’. So what’s this all about?

Community Responders
Teams of dedicated volunteers are involved from their local communities throughout the South West. As the South West is predominantly rural it is not always possible for an ambulance to reach people in the more remote areas quickly, South Western Ambulance Service aims to recruit, train and equip community-based volunteers to respond to any life-threatening emergency and deliver appropriate care until the ambulance arrives. Responders are trained in basic life support (BLS) and equipped with defibrillators, oxygen, first aid equipment and communications. (Text courtesy of SW-Ambulance)

Below are the links to the South West Ambulance 'Responders' Website.

http://www.wcas.nhs.uk/services/responders.htm

http://www.wcas.nhs.uk/services/resp_community.asp

Swanage Coastguard Team
The Swanage Coastguard Team have over the last year undergone extensive training with the South West Ambulance Service, and subject to the final agreement with Coastguard Headquarters will act as ‘Co-responders’. It is likely that the team will go ‘live’ in February 2009, and will be able to assist in the event of a local emergency when an ambulance is not immediately available.

We will be the first Coastguard team in the South-West to do so!