South West volunteer 999 responders get six new vehicles

Trained volunteers attend emergencies within their local communities ahead of an emergency ambulance

Six new response vehicles have been delivered to the South Western Ambulance Service.

Volunteer Community First Responders (CFRs) will be using the vehicles which were funded by a £128,000 grant from NHS Charities Together.

They will be used to get to patients across Cornwall and Isles of Scilly, Devon, Somerset, Dorset, Bristol, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire.

In the last year CFRs went to about 24,000 incidents.

The new vehicles, equipped with a defibrillator, were officially presented to the ambulance service at Buckfast Abbey in Devon.

CFRs are trained volunteers who attend emergencies within their local communities ahead of an emergency ambulance.

They can provide life-saving interventions such as defibrillation and oxygen therapy, as well as reassurance and comfort to patients.

Will Warrender, chief executive of the ambulance service, said the volunteers "provide incredible support to the communities they serve".

Zoe Larter, head of South Western Ambulance Charity, said the vehicles would make "a huge difference and help improve the patient care delivered by our dedicated volunteers".

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