Founded in 2007/08 by Marc Gower who also manages the team.
We are a group of people within the local community who dedicate their spare time as volunteers to attend appropriate 999 calls and provide first hand emergency care to people who require life saving treatment in their own community. When a 999 call is made to the Ambulance service, First responders are alerted by Ambulance control in Carmarthen and mobilised to the emergency the same time as an Ambulance. First responders due to their location will get to a patient much quicker than the emergency ambulance and therefore provide life saving treatment in the first instance prior to thje arrival of the Paramedics.
The volunteers are trained by the Welsh Ambulance service to administer intermediate first aid skills, oxygen therapy, cardiopulmonary resuscitation and use of a defibrillator.
The team in Burry Port has attended over 500 calls since its introduction into the local communities of Burry Port and district. Volunteers come from all walks of life; Builder, Housewife, Consultant Cardiologist, Teacher, Care assistant, fire-fighter and telecommunications engineer. Three new responders have recently qualified to serve the local community and we are always looking for more volunteers. Before you start training, you will be required to have a CRB check and an occupational health check questionnaire. So what are you waiting for ?
There is absolutely no payment involved not even a mileage claim although available? its total commitment to the community we serve. Each responder uses their own vehicle to respond to calls – there are no blue lights or sirens, we adhere to the highway code as we have no exemptions unlike emergency vehicles, we do however get to patients in our area within 2 – 5 minutes of us being mobilised. A fantastic service!
The scheme itself is self funding, totally reliant on donations and fund raising, however this is proving more difficult due to ongoing work commitments with all involved. We do not go around advertising what we do as patients confidentiality is paramount.
It would be great if you could give our scheme some space in your Community news. I would also be prepared to give a presentation to local groups on who we are, what we do and how we do it. If you require any further information please email gower.999@hotmail.com
Yours sincerely,
Marc Gower – Team Coordinator
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