Chesterfield group needs your help to buy life-saving equipment

A defibrillator is a device which gives a high energy electric shock to the heart through the chest wall to someone who is in cardiac arrest. This high energy shock is called defibrillation and is an essential life-saving step in the chain of survival. Stock picture.

Chesterfield Community First Responders wants to raise £3,000 so it can purchase vital equipment including defibrillators and kit bags.

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The group is made up of local volunteers who respond to emergency calls and provide care to patients in the vital minutes before an ambulance arrives.

Community first responders are trained to deliver life-saving intervention and defibrillation to patients in cardiac arrest.

Mark Wilbourn, of Chesterfield Community First Responders, said: "In 98 per cent of cases we are the first emergency resource to get to the scene, often arriving within minutes of the 999 call being made. The community first responders can then begin vital life-saving treatment before the ambulance arrives, further increasing the patient’s chance of survival.

"In an ideal world, there would be an ambulance available on every street corner in each town or in every village.

"This is not the case and is why community first responders can make such a difference in their communities, especially in rural areas."

Mark added: "While the ambulance service provides consumables, there are many pieces of equipment that we must buy ourselves.

"This is a non-profit charity so all donations are used on supplies for the group. The more kits we have, the more responders we can have out on the road continuing this amazing work and offering more cover."

If you would like to support Chesterfield Community First Responders, visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/chesterfield-cfrThe group is also holding a fundraising summer ball at the Proact Stadium between 6pm and midnight on June 7.

Tickets, which cost £35 per person, include a three-course meal and entertainment all night.

For more information and to buy tickets, email Mark via [email protected]

Visit www.chesterfieldcfr.co.uk for more details about Chesterfield Community First Responders.