Community First Responders are volunteers trained by the Ambulance Service to a nationally recognised level to provide life saving treatment to people in their local communities.
When someone suffers a heart attack the first eight minutes are the most critical. If the right treatment is available and can be given then the chances of survival are at their greatest. The Community First Responder Scheme trains volunteers to a high level to provide emergency medical cover in rural communities. Each responder has a specialised kit including a Defibrillator. When a 999 call is received and it is within 7 minutes travelling time of a Community Responder on call the Ambulance Service may pass on the details of the case and ask them to respond. Once on the scene the Responder will provide treatment until an Ambulance arrives. They will then provide support and care for the family.
In South Shropshire the team have recently raised funds for a dedicated “First Responder” Car equipped with radio systems linked to the Ambulance service. We hope to help by raising money to train additional volunteers and provide the necessary equipment, including defibrillators.
“Minutes save lives.”
For further information contact Robin Waters on 01584 878359.

Cruse’s vision is that all bereaved people have somewhere to turn when someone dies. Grief is a natural process, but some people need support to understand and cope with what can be a devastating experience. Cruse offers specialist website, telephone, email and face-to-face support for adults, children and young people.
Cruse provides support across the ages and in all situations. It offers counselling for children and young people and supports adults both young and old. It works in schools, with the armed forces, with families following accidents or sudden loss, and in any circumstances where grief is prolonged or extreme.
Cruse volunteers are all fully trained. Cruse also provides training and consultancy for external organisations and for those who may encounter bereaved people in the course of their work.
Each year Cruse receives over 100,000 requests for support and assistance. This is more than they can currently help.  We hope to provide extra support in Herefordshire by raising funds for our local branch so that they can train more volunteers and enable help and advice to be given when it is most needed.
For further information visit www.cruse.org.uk

Richards Castle Community Defibrillator

Every year people die unnecessarily from heart attacks because the right care and equipment are not available. This is especially true in rural communities such as Richards Castle where we have an elderly population living far from hospitals and local surgeries where equipment such as defibrillators and resuscitation aids are routinely found.
Community Defibrillators have been shown to save lives. This year the Soap Box Derby Committee is hoping to support the Parish Council plans to purchase a Community Defibrillator and a weatherproof case to be mounted on the wall of the Richards Castle Village Hall. The defibrillator would be accessible at all hours of the day and night without a key and the device would be specially chosen to ensure it was designed to avoid any possibility of harm to the patient during use.
There are numerous communities, businesses and facilities that now have these devices and they are widely recognised as making the difference between life and death in the early moments following a heart attack.
We hope to enable those in Richards Castle to have the best chance of survival at this critical time.