999 campaign hits the community heart

Lifesaving volunteers are taking on the challenge of helping communities understand how the ambulance service acts on calls made to its 999 control centres.

Across North Wales, Community First Responder teams (CFR's) will be distributing on the Welsh Ambulance Service's latest campaign, designed to educate the public on what happens after they make a 999 call.

The 999 -What Happens Next campaign highlights how the ambulance service deals with and classifies each emergency call to make people aware of what resource is available when they put down the phone.

Launching the volunteer support for the campaign are members of the Llandudno Community First Responders, alongside Regional First Responder Officer Kevin Hands.

A leaflet and poster features the different categories of calls frontline crews attend to, how ambulance staff deal with them and alternative routes for people if they feel an emergency medical response is not needed.

Using a traffic light system to represent the seriousness of the call category, the Trust is working to make the general public aware that if they are deemed 'green' for non seriousness, they may not need an ambulance, freeing up resources for life threatening emergencies around the corner.

Community First Responders are an important part of the resources that respond to the different type of calls received through ambulance control.

The volunteers are trained by the Welsh Ambulance Service to administer life saving procedures, to carry out the recognition of cardiac conditions, cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the use of a defibrillator until an ambulance arrives at the incident.

Teams in communities across the region are ready to help someone or a relative making a potential life-threatening 999 call in their catchment area.

Regional First Responder Paramedic Officer Kevin Hands explained the volunteers community role is the perfect platform to help the public realise how 999 calls are treated by the Ambulance Trust.

He said: "Many of the volunteers are based in rural areas where it maybe deemed difficult to get an ambulance resource in the appropriate time. They are there first and foremost to provide life saving support until our crews reach the scene.

"By helping promote the campaign, the first responders can make a difference to how people in rural areas use the ambulance service and perhaps highlight the alternative care pathways available to patients who don't necessarily need a 999 response.

Llandudno team co-ordinator Dave White added: "More importantly by distributing the information in communities ourselves we are helping friends and neighbours understand the important role we and fellow volunteers play if ever a life-threatening call is made on our doorstep."