Mina introduced Richard Bottomley, Laura Brunyee and Reanne Grayson of LIVES. Richard explained that LIVES had been formed 45 years ago by two doctors in Lincoln and it is a charity. The ambulance response time is 8 mins and LIVES was set up to help bridge the gap between the 999 call and the ambulance arriving by giving basic life support to the patient. There are 1500 responders in Lincolnshire. There are four levels of Responder – Level 1 in support, Level 2 in support, Level 3, Intermediate and Level 4 and the level they are at depends on what support they can offer the patient. No responder can administer drugs but they can give oxygen and use a defibrillator. A Level 3 Intermediate can attend road traffic casualties.
Richard took us through the current CPR guidelines and also showed us how to use a defibrillator - you really have to stay calm and focussed and listen to the instructions on the machine. The survival rate outside of hospital environment is only 3 or 4% but with the use of a defibrillator this can be increased to between 49-90%.
Beryl thanked Richard for a very interesting and informative talk.
If you are interested in becoming a First Responder visit http://www.lives.org.uk/be-involved/be-a-first-responder/. All the information and an application form is on the website as well as lots more interesting news and information about LIVES.