THE Woodley First Responder Group are a team of volunteers working in partnership with the South Central Ambulance Service to deliver emergency care within the Woodley and surrounding areas. We all live locally and volunteer our spare time to sign on and respond to emergency ambulance calls and get to those who need help and quickly.

'There are over 35,000 people living in the Woodley area and at any time one of them could need urgent medical assistance.  By providing cover within the community we can be on scene to most calls within a matter of minutes, and often before the initial 999 call has ended.'

The most serious type of call we attend are cardiac arrests. Studies have shown that for people who suffer out of hospital cardiac arrests the survival rates are significantly increased when prompt cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and defibrillation is provided. It is also understood that survival rates drop by as much as 10% for every minute that CPR is not performed. Being positioned in the local community means we can reach these patients within minutes and provide them with a much stronger chance of survival. 

As we are unpaid volunteers we rely heavily on fundraising. Whilst the uniform and consumable equipment is provided to us, there are many outgoing costs such as;

• New medical equipment 
• Our website hosting
  
• Promotional material
  
• Event fees

'Our vision for the near future is to significantly expand our group, both with new team members and to also increase awareness in the local community of our work.' 

What are we fundraising for?

In short, our own marked response vehicle for Woodley. 

We currently respond to calls in our own unmarked cars, which reduces our presence both when driving and at scene. It means we are all individually responsible for the cost of our fuel, additional insurance premiums and wear and tear on the vehicles. 

If we have our own marked response vehicle it will benefit us by;

• Increased visibility on the road and awareness of our work
• Professional navigation computer systems, linked to ambulance control, for quicker response times
• The ability to carry more medical equipment, benefitting patient care
• Zero running costs for each member of the team as the vehicle fuel and insurance is funded by the ambulance service
• The ability to use bus lanes and drive through restricted areas as the vehicle is marked in ambulance livery

All donations received go a long way towards our total target, which is to cover the vehicle purchase, livery and lighting, computer system and medical equipment. Whether you have had experience of meeting us, or simply support our work, any donations you can make are greatly appreciated and your investment is going directly into your community.

The small print;

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the Woodley First Responder Group. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for our charity.

Thank you for reading and your support.

For more information;

www.woodleyresponders.co.uk

www.facebook.com/woodleyresponders

www.twitter.com/WoodleyCFRs