Gavin Williamson, MP for South Staffordshire, went to see the extraordinary work being undertaken by Featherstone’s own First Responders unit.
First Responders are a community service trained to assess the situation, providing immediate first aid if needed, and to establish the patient’s previous medical history. A First Responder works within their community to get to the patient within 8 minutes of receiving the call. They regularly attend life threatening incidents such as strokes, cardiac arrest, as well as other medical emergencies where response time can make a huge difference.
Each one of the Responders is a volunteer and are dedicated members of your community. Having someone in the community who has been trained in first aid and can reach the patient quickly makes all the difference and gives our ambulance service much needed support.
Gavin said that his visit was “a truly humbling experience to see members of the public giving their free time to action a much-needed service, upon which many people in the local area depend. They do a truly great job and are a credit to us all.
Commenting, the First Responder’s Coordinator Michelle Stanley said, “We are always looking for support as we are entirely community funded. Alongside supporting the community, we spend lots of our time fundraising as the money raised goes towards our equipment, uniforms and car repairs. Any support we can get from the community is always massively appreciated by ourselves”.