Castlebellinghamfirst repsondersgetboost

THE mid Louth Cardiac First Responder group were delighted to accept a €4000 donation towards their work from Permanent TSB.

Castlebellingham, Dromiskin and Dunleer CFR were presented with a cheque to support their vital work in the community.

Karen Dowling, Chairperson of the CFR group said: ‘ This donation from Permanent tsb will make a great difference to our group and the community.’

‘We are overwhelmed by the generosity and support of Permanent tsb.’

The group were initially known as Castlebellingham and Dromiskin CFR (Cardiac First Responders).

They first went live on 31st March 2017, and due to demand for services in September 2018 they took on the Dunleer area.

The group is now called the Castlebellingham, Dromiskin Dunleer CFR.

Currently the group have fourteen trained members and the training and recruitment process is to start in Dunleer in January 2019.

Karen explained: ‘ Our members up skill every six to eight weeks and there are currently four trainers in the group.’

‘Our Cfr advanced group supports the National Ambulance Service and our community with certain medical emergencies.’

She explained that volunteers are trained to attend call emergency outs for cardiac arrest, stroke and heart attack, as well as respiratory difficulties or choking.

The service is entirely voluntary, with members giving up their time to assist in call outs.

CPR (Cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and defibrilation saves lives.

But volunteers are keen to point out that they are working to assist the ambu- lance service, and are not a replacement for paramedic care.

Their assistance is particularly valuable in cases where they can respond to a call out quickly, and perform emergency care in preparation for the arrival of an ambulance team.

Castlebellingham/Dromiskin and Dunleer chairperson Karen added their thanks for the presentation.

‘ The donation of €4000.00 towards much needed equipment will make a massive difference to running the group. ‘We will now be able to purchase another defibrillator and pack to cover Dunleer. We can also purchase some up to date training equipment, this will also allow us to train more people.

‘We are now in a position to purchase all these needed costly supplies. Permanent TSB are helping us save lives.’

Owen Duffy, Permanent TSB makes a cheque presentation to members of the Castlebellingham, Dromiskin and Dunleer Community First Responder group (CFR). Included are, John Cahill, Mary Watters, Sheila Phillips, Bernie Horwell, Sandra Byrne, Karen Dowling (Chairperson), Catriona Brady and Jane Daly. Also included are, Susan Quinn, John O’Leary and Billy Kehoe, Permanent TSB. Picture by Aidan Dullaghan/Newspics.