Latest News from Five Villages Community First Responders

999 - Where Are You?

THE Community First Responder team based at Misterton are encouraging local people to ensure that their houses can be found easily and quickly should they have to call 999.

The volunteer First Responders work in partnership with East Midlands Ambulance Service and are despatched to assist people suffering from serious and life threatening medical emergencies who have called 999 for help. The First Responders can give immediate care in the rural areas until the arrival of the Ambulance crew.

Martyn Johnson, the Group Coordinator said: "Because we respond locally in the areas where we live and work, we often arrive within the first few minutes following the 999 call being made. We can normally find the road where the incident is located fairly easily, but the biggest problem we then often face is actually finding the correct house. This can mean vital minutes are wasted trying to find the house. It's even worse where houses only have names and not numbers, as we often have to search the entire street before we can find the correct property."

The team have issued some advice for local residents to help ensure that homes can be quickly and easily identified by the emergency services:-

1. Make sure your house number is large enough to be seen from the road side. If you cannot see it from the street, the emergency services wont be able to either.

2. If possible place your house name and number on a wall or a gate post next to the road rather than on the door. Many houses have numbers on the side or on the door, which cannot be seen from the road at all.

3. Cut back foliage regularly so that your number can be seen clearly. Bushes can hide the number, especially in the spring and summer.

4. Ensure that your house name and/or number stands out - especially at night.

5. Help your neighbours make their house numbers visible. The emergency services will be able to find your house quicker if your neighbours houses are also clearly numbered.

6. If you have to call 999 in an emergency - if possible get someone to stand outside the house to watch out for help arriving and to flag them down.

Or turn on the hazard lights of your car if it's parked in the drive or outside the house. At night turn all the lights on in the house, this will make it stand out more.

Martyn went on to say: "If local people can take notice of the above advice it will help us, the Ambulance crews and other 999 services to find houses much more quickly in an emergency situation, saving vital minutes and even lives. The slogan, 'before we can help you we have to find you' certainly applies."

More information and advice can be found online at www.999whereareyou.org.

20/08/06.