Community Basic Life Support + Defibrillator Training

PERRY`S OF GOBOWEN, TRUCK SERVICING AND REPAIRS has recently installed a Public Access Defibrillator at their base in St Martins, Shropshire.

Welsh Community First Responder Effie Cadwallader, who lives in St Martins, spent a morning running awareness sessions for all the staff at Perrys so that they could confidently recognise a cardiac arrest and use a defibrillator in an emergency.

All those who attended found the sessions informative, while the opportunity to practise the procedure using training defibrillators was felt to be of great benefit.

Perrys is a long-term supporter of the CFR scheme, and Effie was delighted to be able to offer her free awareness course to such lively and engaged “students.”

Wrexham Rural Community First Responders has had a dedicated, liveried response car since December 2020 attending emergency calls in the Wrexham and surrounding areas on a regular basis.

 The statistics below demonstrate how effectively the vehicle has been used over the last 3 years, attending a total of 971 emergency calls,covering a distance  of 18587 miles. It has been, and continues to be a very worthwhile and valuable asset.

          MONTH                  HOURS                         JOBS                         MILES

                         BOOKED ON           ATTENDED           TRAVELLED

                               2022    2023 2024        2022    2023 2024         2022       2023. 2024

January              153      134     110       29         20        22          603          517. 430

February            122      155     130       29         30          32        524        503. 541

March                  69      177    146         11       27          27        214         491 477

April                   110      117     166        22      22           38      416        373 648

May                      137      170  139       23        33           19        471          525. 465

June                     137       144    133        26         24            23        479         531 335

July                       199       174    170        35         35        37     641          593. 753

August            184       169    179       25         37         43      497       734 953

September      202        143    159        39         23          38     671         521 707

October           103        104   143       23         27         24        391          608 411

November       170        131    143       28         22       32        559         397 608

December      128         150  161      23         16          23       637          240 363

TOTALS            1714  1618  1779   313    300    358         6103      5793 6691

              Monthly

            Averages              143       147     148     26      26      30            509        503     558

Wrexham CFR Team Member Receives National Award

A long-serving community first responder who regularly deals with life-threatening medical emergencies in the south Wrexham area has been honoured with the highest award to an individual volunteer by the Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust

Effie Cadwallader, a member of the Wrexham Rural CFR group https://www.wrexhamruralcfr.co.uk has attended more than a thousand 999 incidents since she began volunteering with the service five years ago.

Now she has been named ‘Community First Responder of the Year’ from a shortlist drawn up by the Welsh service’s awards committee, which considered hundreds of nominations put forward by the public on behalf of many of the 460 CFRs across Wales.

At an awards ceremony in South Wales, Dr Brendan Lloyd, WAST’s executive medical director, commended Effie for her “excellence in the pre-hospital field where she has demonstrated an outstanding commitment and contribution to her locality”.

Effie was unable to attend the ceremony and received the news of the prestigious accolade while celebrating a ’big birthday’ on holiday abroad with her family.

“Hearing about the award on my birthday was such a lovely surprise,” she said. “It really was the icing on the cake to complete a wonderful day with my family.”

Effie covers a wide area around Chirk, stretching from Tregeiriog, Glyn Ceiriog and Llangollen in the west, north as far as Penycae, Marchwiel and Overton, and east to Hanmer and Bronington.

“Joining WAST has been a truly wonderful experience,” she said.

“The care and encouragement given to the volunteers across Wales is second to none, and the warmth and friendship of every member of the service from the top down is very much appreciated by the volunteers. It’s a great honour to be recognised for the work I’ve done in Wales, and I want to thank all my colleagues for the exceptional support they’ve given me.”

Above CFR of the Year Effie Cadwallader receiving her award from Linda Williams of the Welsh Ambulance Service Trust, with friends and colleagues of the Wrexham Rural CFRs.

Below the cake made by Christine Bowen celebrating Effies's award.

WREXHAM RURAL COMMUNITY FIRST RESPONDERS RECEIVE GENEROUS DONATION

Wrexham Rural Community First Responders are delighted to have received a generous donation from Southsea residents Christine and Paul Bowen.

Paul and Christine recently arranged a craft event at Glan yr Afon, Southsea, Wrexham, the proceeds from which will support the CFR group in maintaining and replacing key items of equipment during the coming year.

Though the CFRs` primary role is to attend local emergencies tasked by the Welsh Ambulance Service, members also offer community training events around the area, familiarising groups in the practice of CPR and the use of Public Access Defibrillators. These activities require training equipment which the CFR group purchases itself.

Anyone in the north east Wales area interested in receiving this free training can contact the group by email: admin@wrexhamruralcfr.co.uk

Photo shows Wrexham CFR Treasurer Adam Salomonson receiving a cheque for £170 from Christine Bowen