Welsh Ambulance Service joins forces with St John Ambulance Cymru on life-saving new initiative
14.10.24
THE Welsh Ambulance Service and St John Ambulance Cymru have joined forces on a new life-saving initiative.
Volunteer Alternative Responders are trained by St John Ambulance Cymru to respond to medical emergencies in their community.
Calls are triaged by the Welsh Ambulance Service to on-call volunteers nearby who draw upon their skillset to provide life-saving care in the minutes before an ambulance arrives.
Rhayader in Powys was the first community to adopt the new scheme, with schemes in Caerphilly, Haverfordwest, Knighton and Ruthin going live last month.
Judith Bryce, Assistant Director of Operations (National Operations and Support) at the Welsh Ambulance Service, said: “We’re delighted to be working with St John Ambulance Cymru once again on another initiative with the potential to save lives.
“Volunteering at the Welsh Ambulance Service has come a long way in the last two decades, and the Volunteer Alternative Responder scheme is the latest in a series of new and exciting plans to further embrace our volunteers and make communities across Wales safer for all.
“Our volunteers come from all walks of life, but one thing they have in common is the commitment to put others before themselves and ensure the communities of Wales have someone they can depend on in times of need.
“The need for that community resilience has never been more important.”
St John Ambulance Cymru already runs similar schemes in communities across Wales.
Darren Murray, Head of Community Operations at St John Ambulance Cymru, said: “St John Ambulance Cymru volunteers have been stepping up to provide first aid and life-saving support in communities across Wales for over a century, and this new scheme is the latest way their dedication and skills are helping people get the help they need as quickly as possible.
“Our community of volunteers regularly give up their time to hone their skills so they are prepared just in case someone needs their help, whether at home or at one of hundreds of events they provide first aid cover for each year.”
Beyond the partnership with St John Ambulance Cymru, there are a number of other volunteering opportunities at the Welsh Ambulance Service which more than 600 members of the public across Wales give up their time to support.
They include –
Community Welfare Responders
Community Welfare Responders (CWRs) are trained to attend appropriate 999 calls in their local community.
They take an initial set of observations, including blood pressure and oxygen levels, and report back to clinicians in the ambulance control room, who determine the appropriate next steps.
That might be a referral to the patient’s GP, self-care advice, sending an ambulance resource or something else.
Among them is Chloe Hobbs, 20, of Dinas Powys, an aircraft dispatcher at Cardiff Airport, who completed her CWR training in June.
Last month, she attended an elderly man in Bridgend and worked with colleagues in the ambulance service and primary care to support the patient to remain at home.
“When we arrived, it was clear the gentleman was unwell,” said Chloe.
“What complicated things was that he was the sole carer for his wife, and if he had to go to hospital, so would she – he was adamant he didn’t want that.
“I took a set of observations which I shared with the control room clinician, who decided the patient needed a fuller assessment by an Advanced Paramedic Practitioner.
“Together, we liaised with the patient’s GP to create a plan to keep him at home and get him the support he needed to continue to live independently.
“Everybody worked together to find a solution.”
Chloe was supported on scene by Support Officer (Volunteering) Nik Dart.
Nik said: “Our initial ‘eyes on’ observations, coupled with a remote assessment by a control room clinician, an in-person assessment by an Advanced Paramedic Practitioner and a consultation with the gentleman’s GP meant he got the most appropriate care for him.
“Safely supporting more patients to remain at home is what the CWR initiative is all about.”
To aspiring CWRs, Chloe said: “Coming into this role, I was really quite scared about whether I’d be able to help and support patients.
“Even though I’m a civilian and my medical knowledge is very basic, we still have an important role to play in helping patients to get the right care or advice, in the right place, every time.
“We’re there for people in their hour of need, in turn bolstering that community resilience.”
Volunteer Car Service Drivers
Volunteer Car Service Drivers use their own vehicles to transport people to and from routine hospital appointments, including dialysis, oncology and outpatient appointments.
Last year, they made 41,599 journeys across Wales and covered almost one and a half million miles in their own vehicles.
As part of a new initiative, cancer patients have been paired with a specific volunteer to improve their experience.
Gareth Parry, Operations Manager (Volunteer Car Service), said: “Volunteer Car Service Drivers transport thousands of patients every year to and from hospital appointments.
“A good number of those are cancer patients whose treatment can be intensive, often daily chemotherapy, radiotherapy or immunotherapy over several weeks, for example.
“Patients told us about the importance of getting to these appointments on time and about the need for continuity of transport, which is how our oncology initiative was created.
“Patients are ‘buddied’ up exclusively to one volunteer, which gives them that continuity, builds rapport and takes the anxiety out of transport at an already anxious time.
“Everyone’s on the same page and knows what’s happening for any given journey.
“We’ve made more than 2,500 oncology journeys since the pilot began in March, and the feedback from patients – and volunteers – has been overwhelmingly positive.”
The initiative is now being rolled out pan-Wales.
Community First Responders
Community First Responders attend 999 calls in their community and administer first aid in the precious first minutes before an ambulance arrives.
They are trained by the Welsh Ambulance Service to administer first aid, including oxygen therapy and cardiopulmonary resuscitation, as well as the use of a defibrillator.
Last year, in a UK ambulance service first, they were also trained to administer Methoxyflurane, or Penthrox, a fast-acting drug used to reduce pain in patients with a traumatic injury like a fracture, dislocation, severe laceration or burns.
The Trust also collaborates with partner organisations on a number of other volunteering initiatives, including –
Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service
Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service provides support on behalf of the Welsh Ambulance Service to patients who have fallen, and for those patients suffering an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.
For these patients, uniformed first responders can make a difference to patient outcomes and the patient experience prior to the arrival of the ambulance service.
For more about the volunteering opportunities at the Welsh Ambulance Service, visit: Volunteer For Us - Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust