The CRF (Community First Responders) and Paramedic crews often find it extremely difficult to locate an address when responding to emergency calls. A house may have a name as opposed to a door number and if the name or number is not clearly visible from the street, crucial seconds or minutes may be lost whilst the crews are looking for the address. Caterham, Warlingham and Oxted and the surrounding areas are served by CRF volunteers who respond on behalf of the Ambulance Service. It can be those vital minutes that could make the difference between life and death in a cardiac arrest which are lost.
We spoke to Geoff Kempster (Public Governor, South East Coast Ambulance NHS Foundation Trust) who explained “If you do call out an ambulance, and know that your house name or number is not clearly visible, then do what you can to make your house stand out. Turn all the lights on in the front of the house. Park the car outside with hazard warning lights going. Anything that becomes a clear marker for the ambulance, and let the operator know which actions you have taken, so they can advise the crews or volunteers who are enroute to assist you.”
