Kettering Freemasons and Provincial Grand Charity donate £3,000 to equip North Northants Community First Responders
The Lodge of St Paul, No. 6516, based in Kettering, supported the North Northants Community First Responders (NNCFR) by donating £150 from the proceeds of a raffle held during one of its meetings.
NNCFR required assistance to purchase 20 specialist adult and paediatric pulse and oxygen level monitors.
Following this request, the Provincial Grand Charity of Northamptonshire & Huntingdonshire Freemasons agreed a further donation of £2,850, enabling NNCFR to purchase all 20 much-needed devices immediately.
Kettering Freemason Andrew McGuire was present to see how the donation would be used and to understand how this vital equipment will standardise and enhance the service provided by NNCFR teams within the community.
The East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) operates a Community First Responder (CFR) scheme, under which volunteers are trained to provide a valuable, life-saving service within their local communities. When a 999 call is received by the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), an ambulance is dispatched and, at the same time, a CFR on call in the area may be alerted to assist, ensuring help reaches the patient as quickly as possible.
In many medical emergencies, the first few minutes are critical. Dispatching a CFR can save lives and reduce long-term disability.
Community First Responders are trained to deliver a range of emergency, life-saving procedures, including emergency first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), defibrillation, and oxygen therapy.
Having operated as a community group for several years, NNCFR has grown significantly and couldn't have done so without kind donations such as this.