Community Response Car for Cornwall On Order
The South Western Ambulance Charity is pleased to announce that, thanks to generous donations, we have now secured all the funding required to buy a new Community Response Vehicle (CRV), dedicated to responding to patients in Cornwall.
The car will be fully converted for use by volunteer Community First Responders (CFRs) across Cornwall, enhancing their capacity to respond to patients at times of health emergency.
What is a Community First Responder (CFR)?
CFRs volunteer in the areas where they work or live, often providing early lifesaving emergency aid ahead of ambulance arrival. They attend thousands of incidents each year as part of the South Western Ambulance Service (SWASFT) response. Their contributions really do save lives, reduce pain and provide reassurance to those requiring emergency care.
Community Response Vehicles (CRVs)
Head of Charity, Zoe Larter said:
“We’re absolutely delighted to be ordering our seventh Community Response Vehicle (CRV) funded by the South Western Ambulance Charity, to increase resources available to volunteer CFRs. We’ve seen the immense difference they are already making across the South West, for example, in the first nine months the initial six cars were used to attend 1884 emergency incidents.”
Volunteer CFR Alexander reported that;
“These cars have added a completely new dimension to how we can support our front-line colleagues and therefore our communities”.
A SWASFT Community Responder Officer added;
“The CFR cars improve patient outcomes because they are flexible to the dynamic needs of the Ambulance Service.”
Fundraising for Car, Conversion and Kit
South Western Ambulance Charity Fundraising Manager, Louise Walsh, said:
“The purchase of this dedicated car has only been made possible thanks to generous support from Cornish charity FLEET, the Cornish Masonic Lodges, as well as other public donations including gifts in wills.
Existing funds will now enable us to order the car and cover extensive conversion costs, but we’re still fundraising for equipment that this car will carry, such as a medical kit bag, a defibrillator and a Raizer Lifting Chair used to help volunteer CFRs to lift a patient who may have had a fall and is unable to get up.”
Donations to support this project to fund the additional kit and equipment for the Community Response Vehicle dedicated to Cornwall can be made at https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/cornwall-cfr-car
The Charity is continuing to work with donors, grant makers and supporters to provide additional vehicles where possible and would like to acknowledge the major contribution from NHS Charities Together that helped to fund and equip the first 6 cars.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact us on 0300 3690108 or email charity@swast.nhs.uk.