Community Responder group for Wexford town

WEXFORD Order of Malta is launching a Community First Responder Group for Wexford town and would like interested people to attend a public information night on Wednesday, February 20 in the Riverbank House Hotel at 7 p.m.

The voluntary group which is in the early stages of being established, will be linked with the National Ambulance Service.

First Responder schemes are developed as a support for the ambulance service and work off an alert system from the National Emergency Operations Centre.

Once a scheme is active, responders present at incidents of an immediate life-threatening nature within an agreed zone to give early ‘hands on’ assistance while an ambulance is on the qay.

The volunteers respond to incidents at the clinical level of Cardiac First Responder -Community which is a recognised qualification by the Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council.

Wexford Town Community First Responders Group will provide continuous training to reflect best practice, to benefit people in the community and the volunteers. according to a spokeswoman for Wexford Order of Malta which is celebratingits 80th anniversary this year.

‘We have been in discussion with appropriate National Ambulance Service representatives and are confident the group will have a significant positive impact in our community’.

‘We are very excited to bring this initiative to Wexford town and greatly appreciate the support we have received so far and we look forward to ongoing support in the future’, she said.

Similar groups have been set up in rural areas of County Wexford and across Ireland.

If you are interested in becoming involved with the group in any way, you are invited to the open evening where an NAS respresentative will be in attendance to explain the working of the group.