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Latest News

September 2010

Woking CFR Team receives £2,000 donation
from Co-operative Community Fund
The Co-operative Community Fund is a grant scheme that helps local communities throughout the UK. Members of The Co-operative Group who want to help improve the lives of others, donate part or all of their share of the profits and so raise millions of pounds for all kinds of projects. Since the initiative began in 1997, thousands of clubs, community groups and self-help organisations have benefited.

In August the Woking CFR Team received a very generous donation of £2,000 which will be used to fully equip an additional Community Responder in the local area.

Team leader Simon Ramm says:

“We rely completely on sponsorship and charitable donations so receiving this money from the Co-operative Community Fund is a big boost to our finances in the second half of the year. Thanks to Donna Page and her South East Region team for their support and engagement.”

 

August 2010

Woking CFR Team receives £410 donation
from Waitrose West Byfleet
Since its launch in 2008, Waitrose's Community Matters initiative has donated over £3 million to a wide range of charities and community groups. Each month 3 local schemes are nominated and customers vote for their preferred cause using a green token each time they shop and the money each cause is given is directly proportional to the tokens they receive. In June the Woking CFR team was nominated and received the most number of ‘votes’ leading to a very generous donation from the store of £410.

Team leader Simon Ramm says:

“We would like to pass on our thanks to everyone at Waitrose in West Byfleet for their support and the generous cash donation we recently received. The money will be used to purchase additional medical equipment that in turn will benefit the local community”.

 

July 2010

Woking CFR Team receives best team award

The South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Trust operates more than 170 CFR teams across Kent, Sussex and Surrey. Between them Community Responders have attended close to 14,000 Category A emergency calls in the last year. More than 800 of these calls have been to reports of cardiac or respiratory arrest.

At an awards ceremony to celebrate these achievements the Woking CFR Team received a best team award “to honour exceptional dedication and commitment to their community throughout 2009/10”.

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.”

Team leader Simon Ramm says:

“I am very pleased that we received this award as it recognises the huge effort and dedication that every single team member has put into the scheme. It is also a fitting testament to the support we have received from our many sponsors”.

 

 

June 2010

Woking CFR Team participate in a joint service training event

As part of the team’s commitment to provide a high standard of ongoing training opportunities for its CFRs, a comprehensive and realistic emergency incident was recreated at a site in Woking. Team members had no prior knowledge of what to expect as they arrived to respond to a high category incident involving a collapsed male. The incident environment was classed as being hazardous with what turned out to be electrocution as the primary cause of the injuries sustained.

To safely reach and treat the casualty the team needed further assistance and equipment. This was provided by Southern Fire and Rescue who responded as back up, arriving on blue lights to provide support. As the team began to treat the casualty his condition deteriorated and he went into cardiac arrest. Thus the team began to provide BLS (Basic Life Support) by way of CPR and early defibrillation. Further Paramedic backup arrived and the patient was successful extricated and treated. Following the incident the team went through a full debrief to discuss the protocols they followed and various feedback from the incident controllers.

The Woking CFR Team would like to thank Southern Fire & Rescue, SECAmb and the LAS for their support in making the training event such a success.

 

 

July 2010

Mizens Miniature Railway fundraising event

Mizens is a popular local attraction with a 1/8 scale railway running through an idyllic eight acre woodland site. Apart from the railway itself there are buildings of quality and authenticity and plenty of everyday railway memorabilia.

On Sun 18th July 2010 the Woking CFR Team took part in a very successful fund raising event at the site. The aim of the day was to raise public awareness of the scheme, answer questions from members of the public and raise additional equipment funds.

The team received a very generous cash sum from the railway itself and combined with donations from members of the public a total of £520 was raised. The money will go towards the purchase of a new AED (Automated External Defibrillator) used to treat patient’s suffering from cardiac arrest.

First Responder Richard Hart says:

“We’d like to pass on our sincere thanks to everyone at Mizens Railway for their support of our scheme. We are looking forward to an ongoing productive relationship”. Members of the team will visit Mizens in September to give a talk on first aid and demonstration of how to treat an unconscious casualty.

For more information on Mizens Railway visit www.mizensrailway.co.uk

May 2010

WCFR Team attends the Brooklands Emergency Services Day

The annual event held at Brooklands Museum showcases all of our emergency services and gives the public the chance to learn more and interact with the personnel. The WCFR team was part of the SECAmb (South East Coast Ambulance Service) display and spent the day talking to potential recruits, donators and interested members of the public. An interview with a local radio station also gave the team the opportunity to reach out to more people within the community.

“Our thanks go to the Brooklands Fire and Rescue team for their support during the day and for the huge effort they put into making the event such a success”

April 2010

Woking Rotary Club presents the scheme with a complete set of emergency equipment

The Woking Rotary Club has very generously donated £2,000 to enable new recruits Richard and Annette Hart to being responding in their home town of Addlestone. Members of the club presented the husband and wife team with a new set of equipment including a top of the range G3 defibrillator.

The importance of this donation was almost immediately underlined when Richard was called to attend an emergency incident on the very same evening of the presentation. Responding to a 999 call to an elderly male with difficulty breathing Richard was able to provide Oxygen therapy to stabilise the patient prior to the arrival of the Ambulance crew. As well as providing this treatment he also monitored the patient’s vital stats and was able to collect the information needed for a professional hand over.
Woking CFR scheme leader Simon Ramm says:

"I’d like to pass on our thanks to the Woking Rotary Club for their amazing support of our scheme. The fact that Richard was able to positively influence the outcome of an emergency incident on the very same day we received the kit really underlines the importance of the donation. So well done to Richard and to the Rotary Club for making it possible!"