Our Speaker Meeting in January

In the picture: Sharon Dobson, guest speaker at this meeting, with Club President John Goodearl.

Sharon is the Chair and Trustee of Swindon Community First Responders, a volunteer-led charity affiliated with the South Western Ambulance Service.   First Responders attend emergencies where it is essential for the patient to receive immediate life-saving care. This includes cardiac arrests; chest pain; breathing difficulties; unconsciousness and patients suffering from a stroke.  They work single-handedly: for their own safety they are not sent to road traffic accidents nor any incidents involving drugs, alcohol or mental issues.

Sharon and her colleagues cover an area of approximately a 15-mile radius around Swindon.  They are entirely voluntary and receive no pay whatsoever.  They can use their own car; no blue lights driving for them,   They are available 24/7 and when alerted by a special app on their phone must immediately drop whatever they are doing and respond straight away.   The app is also a satnav to direct them to the exact spot where they are needed.

It is not necessary for volunteers to come from a medical background.  SWASFT currently has a whole host of people including engineers, postal workers and teachers.   What they must have is a full driving licence with less than 6 penalty points, good interpersonal skills and the ability to take the lead and remain calm in pressured situations.  Also a level of fitness to deliver cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the ability to complete theoretical training to national academic level 3.

They go on a course to be taught patient assessment, respiration and airway management, basic life support, defibrillation, circulation and shock, and medical and trauma related emergencies.

Sharon and some CFRs carry a Raizer Chair, a battery-operated hydraulic lifting chair, which brings a fallen person up to an almost standing position in a few minutes.  It requires only limited physical effort from the operator.  A person who has fallen is lifted up comfortably to a sitting or almost standing position in a way that supports the entire body throughout the process.

Sharon mentioned GoodSAM, a video streaming platform designed for the emergency services, which allows colleagues and members of the public to instantly share their location, as well as what they’re seeing at the scene of an incident via the camera on their mobile phone.    It’s initiated by sending an SMS text message or email containing a web link to a 999/101 caller, who on opening the link can allow the call handler to track their location and view the live video footage of the scene in front of the caller, or upload images/videos already stored on their device. 

DefibFinder is another useful site on the internet.  It shows where the nearest available defibrillators are in relation to a person’s current location.

It is obvious that Sharon is extremely dedicated and committed to the First Responders service and Rotary members had genuine admiration for the good work that she and her colleagues do.