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Press Release 29th November 2006
RAF & Ambulance Service Unit to Save Lives
South Central Ambulance Service NHS Trust and the Royal Air Force are pleased to announce the launch of a new community partnership in Halton, near Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire.
A media event will be held on Friday 1st December to commemorate this new partnership as both organisations move forward to launch trained Co-Responders as an additional resource in the local community. By kind permission of Group Captain John Harrison, Station Commander, the local launch will take place at 11am on RAF Halton’s Parade Ground. The event will attract VIP guests, and provide interview opportunities and a medical re-enactment to highlight how the new partnership will work.
After months of planning and collaboration with South Central Ambulance Service, who have provided individual medical training and equipment, 23 Royal Air Force personnel based at RAF Halton are now preparing to launch the new partnership that will see patients benefiting from the additional RAF response.
Why do we need Co-Responders?
Co-Responders will help in those first vital minutes of someone falling ill, by using the skills learnt during their training. A simple technique such as putting someone into the recovery position could save a life. The role of co-responders will be to provide an additional medical resource in the local community and work in partnership with the ambulance service who will continue to treat and transfer all medical emergencies.
Once fully trained, Co-Responders will be able to provide vital life saving care until the arrival of an emergency ambulance. Having been trained in Basic Life Support the RAF Co-Responder will be able to use this valuable skill wherever they are, notably when deployed overseas in operational contexts. Each member of the RAF is trained annually in First Aid and the additional training the Co-Responders have received from the South Ambulance Service has greatly enhanced their skills.
If someone falls ill suddenly, they often need immediate medical attention. For people whose heart has stopped, for example, early defibrillation can increase the chances of survival by up to 60%. In the case of a cardiac arrest the Co-Responder, equipped with and trained to use a defibrillator, may well be the difference between life and death.Co-Responders are part of a collaborative partnership designed to save lives.
Qualified Co-Responders can be alerted by Ambulance Control at the same time as an NHS ambulance is despatched and can help to prevent the condition from getting any worse as they are already within the community and could often get to the patient first.
Under the proposed partnership, RAF Halton Co-Responders will be activated by South Central Control Communications Centre and will respond to medical emergencies in the Halton and surrounding area whilst an ambulance is en route.
What training have Co-Responders received?
Following an intensive training course covering Basic Life Support, use of a Defibrillator, care of an unconscious patient, choking and various other medical emergencies, all RAF Co-Responders have been successful in passing written and practical assessments, with further training planned.
All of the Co-Responders have benefited from the training and the time spent with Paramedics and Clinical Tutors at the South Central Clinical Training School. It is hoped that once the team is fully operational, members of the community relatives and friends will benefit from the skills learned.
John Nichols, South Central Divisional Director of Operations extended his support to the RAF partnership and forthcoming co-responder scheme by saying, “This initiative is a fantastic opportunity for us to extend our partnership with other services, much to the benefit of patients in Halton and surrounding rural communities. The training received by RAF Halton Co-Responders will help to ensure that patients and family members receive life saving treatment in the first vital moments when a patient needs it most.”
Group Captain John Harrison, Station Commander RAF Halton, endorsed John Nichols comments and said “I am very proud of the fact that we have been able to work with the community. Being able to respond quickly in support of the Ambulance Service delivers added safety for people in our area and valuable training for our people who must be able to respond in the most demanding of operational circumstances where there Responders life may also be at risk. I have been enormously impressed by the enthusiasm and dedication of my staff as they have selflessly dedicated themselves to learning and homing new skills”.
