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Responder awards
Press office - 21 July 2010
Three Community First Responders who
attended more than 500 calls each in just one year were among those
recognised for their efforts at South East Coast Ambulance Service
NHS Trust’s (SECAmb) Community First Responder Awards.
Alan Deakin, from Brighton, (653 calls),
Phil Ashton from Peacehaven, (580 calls) and Paul Armstrong from
Dover, (512 calls) attended the life-threatening emergencies in
their local areas between April 2009 and March 2010.
The trio joined fellow responders from
SECAmb’s Kent, Sussex and Surrey region at the annual awards, held
at the Felbridge Hotel in East Grinstead, on Friday 16 July. (See
below for full list of winners).
Trained and supported by SECAmb,
community responders are dedicated volunteers who provide emergency
care in their local areas in the minutes before an ambulance
arrives.
The Trust operates more than 170
responder teams across its region. Between them they assisted the
Trust with close to 14,000 Category A calls between April 2009 and
July 2010. More than 800 of these calls were to reports of a
cardiac or respiratory arrest.
SECAmb Chief Executive Paul Sutton said:
“I was delighted to meet so many dedicated volunteers at the awards
and I’d like to thank them all for their efforts. Community First
Responders provide an amazing service to their local communities.
Each and every responder should be extremely proud of their
achievements.”
Other responders honoured on the night
included Colin Burden from Alfriston, Sussex, who was awarded the
Exceptional Service Award for his actions when he came across a
serious road traffic accident in December 2009. Despite challenging
circumstances and the fact that responders are not sent to RTCs,
Colin was unfazed. He began triaging patients, liaised with control
room staff and supported ambulance clinicians at the scene.
Team awards were given to the Crawley,
Sevenoaks and Woking schemes while Fundraising Awards were snapped
up by the Deal, Aylesham and Horsham teams.
Frank Doel from Selsey, West Sussex, was
presented with the Long Service Award in recognition of his
continuous service as a responder.
SECAmb Responder Network Lead Jo Shakir
said: “We’re extremely proud of the life-saving service community
responders provide across our region. It’s right that we’re able to
thank them for their tireless dedication to their vital role.”
Anyone who would like more information about becoming a
community responder or on schemes already operating in their local
area should contact the SECAmb Community Responder Team office on
01273 897861 or email: recruitment@secamb.nhs.uk
Full list of award winners:
Long Service Award: Frank Doel, Selsey, (West Sussex) - Frank
was awarded in recognition of his continuous service as a Community
First Responder. Having been a member of the response network more
or less since its conception, he has worked tirelessly to develop
his local scheme. Given this remote location, the work that he
carries out for SECAmb is invaluable.
Team Awards: Crawley, (West Sussex), Sevenoaks, (Kent) and
Woking, (Surrey) - SECAmb has always been very proud of its
Community First Responders and there are now over 170 teams
throughout the South East. To highlight any one in particular
proved impossible and so we decided to honour three teams for their
exceptional dedication and commitment to their communities
throughout 2009/10.
Innovation Award: Stuart Hill, Horsham, (West Sussex) - This
award is for new and innovative thinking and the development of
ideas that not only help the local community, but also fulfil a
vital need. Stuart identified the need for a relatives’ guide to
his local hospital. The guide has now been produced and includes a
range of essential information including directions, parking
information and details of other supporting services.
Exceptional Service Award: Colin Burden, Alfriston, (East
Sussex) - Colin was faced with one of the most challenging
situations possible. On an icy day in December, he came across a
mini bus full of school children which had left the road hitting
two pedestrians in its path. Not only did he triage all the
patients and liaise with EDC but also supported the ambulance crew
when they arrived at the scene.
New Team Award: Eastbourne, (East Sussex) - During 2009/10 the
Eastbourne team recruited a high number of new responders and
achieved considerable fundraising success. They also attended
numerous public events to create awareness of the scheme in their
area.
Community Award: Rob Page, East Dean, (East Sussex) - Rob lives
in a very rural area where it is difficult to identify individual
addresses and where there is little or no street lighting. In order
to help locate an emergency call he has documented the location of
more than 2,000 properties in his local area to support him in his
work.
Co-responder Award: Shoreham Fire and Rescue Team, (West Sussex)
- This co-responder team is a shining example of how joint working
can deliver excellent clinical results. They continue to be
ambassadors and promoting the work of co responders throughout the
fire service.
Fundraising Awards: Deal, (Kent), Aylesham, (Kent), Horsham,
(West Sussex).
The Fundraising Award was given to three teams all of which have
shown considerable initiative and determination. Despite the
current economic climate they have continued to raise thousands of
pounds in order to develop their teams.
Partnership Award: Dougie Coombes, Sussex Heart Charity – Dougie
was recognised for his continuous support and development of staff
at Gatwick Airport. With in excess of 60 defibrillators on site,
delivering the basic life support training requires true
dedication. He is also trains at various other Public Access
Defibrillator sites across Sussex.
Ambassador Award: Billingshurst, (West Sussex) – The
well-established Billingshurst team were recognised for their
tireless work to increase the awareness of Community First
Responders within their community. They have also linked with local
organisations to develop several new Public Access Defibrillator
sites.
Team Leader Award – The following exceptional individuals were
recognised.
Phil and Joy Ashton from Peacehaven, (East Sussex) – This
husband and wife team were recognised for their continued support
in their community and for their work with fellow teams in their
surrounding area.
John Kempton, Oxted, (Surrey) - for the expansion of his team,
links with adjoining teams and fantastic fundraising efforts.
Gerald Farrow, Medway, (Kent) - for the support and training he
has provided and for having developed the Medway team to such an
extent, the decision was taken to split the team into three
different areas to encourage more growth. Gerald is now the Team
Leader for the Chatham area.
Community First Responder Awards: Alan Deakin, Brighton, Phil
Ashton, Peacehaven and Paul Armstrong, Dover - for the exceptional
number of calls they undertook in 2009/10.
