A prestigious 'Response' to community volunteers

The Brightlingsea and West Mersea First Responder groups are to be given the Queen's Award for Voluntary Services, an exceptional honour and what is only the second such award for the national community first responder scheme.

The award recognises excellence in voluntary activities carried out in communities, and is for volunteers who regularly devote their time to helping others,

improve the quality of life and opportunity for others, and provide an outstanding service.  The groups were successful because they were able to demonstrate, among other criteria, that they have a proven track record of active involvement in the community and they meet a particular need.

Now plans are being made for an official presentation of the certificate by the Lord Lieutenant of Essex Lord Petre, on behalf of the Queen.

West Mersea volunteer Bill Norman spoke on behalf of the groups: "We're extremely honoured to have been given this award.

"Although we knew we were being nominated, we were still very surprised when we heard the news. As far as we're concerned, we grateful we can help the people in our communities, and the ambulance service."

The ambulance service's Essex First Responder coordinator John Hopkins added: "I made the nomination because these two groups were part of the original pilot scheme that was set up in 1997 and have shown real dedication and enthusiasm. They play a very real part in providing pre-hospital care in life threatening situations within their communities

"They often go above and beyond what is required of them in terms of the time and effort they put into the group, and of course when it comes to responding itself, they have proved to be exceptional volunteers. I hope both the Brightlingsea and West Mersea communities are inspired by this."

Interim Locality Chief Operating Officer Neil Storey said: "This is an incredible achievement and I'm very proud of everyone involved and I hope they are rightly proud of themselves.

"Essex was the first county in the country to use First Responders 11 years ago, and these two groups were among the first five to go 'live'. It's fantastic that just over a decade later, this award has been given to highlight how vital their role is."

ENDS

Media are invited to attend the presentation ceremony, which is to be scheduled for early July in the Colchester area. The press office will update the recipients of this press release once the time, date and location is confirmed.

Notes for editors

First Responders are individuals who live or work in the local communities and are activated by the East of England Ambulance Service to attend emergency calls where time can make the difference between life and death.

Each volunteer takes it in turn to be 'on call'. They carry basic first aid equipment and a simple-to-use Automated External Defibrillator (AED). The Health and Emergency Operations Centre sends them to Category A (immediate life threatening) medical calls. First Responders are dispatched at the same time as the ambulance crew, but often arrive before the ambulance crew because they are based locally. The responder then provides care until the ambulance arrives, usually only a few minutes later