'First response' scheme expanded

The volunteers provide help until an ambulance arrives

A first aid scheme that trains local people to provide medical help until an ambulance arrives is being expanded in East Yorkshire.

The First Responder scheme is a 24-hour call-out system run by the Tees, East and North Yorkshire Ambulance Service (TENYAS).

It already operates in several parts of East Yorkshire including Stamford Bridge, Lund, Middleton-on-the-Wolds and Skipsea.

Now volunteers in Gilberdyke and Blacktoft are being asked to come forward for the 12 hours of initial training.

Phone and pager

As well as being taught first aid skills, they will be issued with a defibrillator which administers an electric shock to re-start a heart back to a regular rhythm.

TENYAS also provides them with oxygen - as well as a phone and pager to link them to the control room in York.

Steve Harrison of TENYAS explained that the scheme does not replace the ambulance service but the volunteers provide valuable help in rural areas until paramedics arrive.

"They are only minutes away from providing life-saving treatment in the first few moments of a heart attack and other emergencies," he said.

Mr Harrison added: "Immediate defibrillation can dramatically increase a patient's chance of survival."

Public meetings are being held during November in Gilberdyke and Blacktoft for anyone interested in becoming a First Responder.