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Last updated on: 29/07/2008 11:56

 

If you'd like anything added to this page please phone or email Jeremy. Calls are in red.

 

Saturday 26/07/08   Dem was sat at his computer during the afternoon when he had a call from Margaret Smith. An elderly lady had fallen opposite her house and could not move, even though she was in the road stopping traffic. He grabbed the old bag and kit and went to have a look. The ambulance was on the way but no RRV so Dem examined the lady and it was obvious that her hip was broken. She had no feeling in the leg, her pulse was normal and she was comfortable so long as she wasn't moved. Someone supplied a something to support her head and she was left on the road.

The paramedics came about 15 mins later and were great.

As Dem was acting as a first aider - rather than a first responder - there was no call from ambulance control and therefore no paperwork.
Saturday 19/07/08   Another hot but windy day for the carnival. Nothing to sell on the stand this year, just keeping our profile high in the village and possibly trawl for new volunteers - no luck there I'm afraid. There was only one minor medical incident this year (plaster required - which we don't have in the kit!) which was lucky as the organiser had once again failed to organise first aid cover from St John or British Red Cross.
Friday 27/06/08   Reminders: Cycle ride cover on Sunday 6th July. Cover needed for 8am to 10am shift. Pennard Carnival on 19th July
Friday 06/06/08  
Betty and Linda did well last night - 2 Call-outs in one night!!  Both in Southgate.
 
The first was at 22.45pm to a 77y/o man with an Asthma attack.  The RRV Paramedic had arrived just before them. He gave the gentleman O2 and then a salbutamol nebuliser which relieved his SOB. Patient was taken to Singleton hospital. Interestingly, the Paramedic said that if we are called to someone with Asthma or COAD we should give 100% O2 with normal mask not 28%. The crew can adjust if necessary.  Apparently it is best to get as much O2 on board as possible.
 
Second call was at 2.40am to Heatherslade - 2nd floor!! It was an elderly lady, 99 y/o, short of breath and ? CVA. They gave O2 and put pulseometer on.  The ambulance crew arrived shortly after and after examination thought she had a UTI (as she was hot).  Taken to Singleton also. Staff had phoned relatives who said they had agreed with home that she was not to be admitted to hospital!  They gave me phone to speak to her and I referred it to crew who took her anyway.
Wednesday 04/06/08  
Wendy & Linda had a call from ambulance control at 20.55. It was to a 77 y/o lady with chest pain and SOB.  They arrived 3 minutes before the RRV Paramedic.  It transpired that the casualty had had a fainting attack. They were just about to give her O2 when the paramedic arrived - saved using our cylinder! The ambulance arrived later from Pontardawe.  The lady refused to go to hospital as she felt better by that time. Linda says that it was interesting to see what Paramedic did - yet another step on her learning curve.
Thursday 05/06/08   A suggestion has been made that we have monthly meetings of no more than an hour, so that we can quickly cover any essentials and do some of our own refresher training. Helen has assured us that we can book the small hall at the Community Centre for a year in advance. Dem is looking for opinions about this and suggestions as to which evenings we should hold the meetings, e.g. first Wednesday of the month or second Friday of every month, etc.

Jeremy has sorted out with the University responders an arrangement where they can go on call with an ambulance crew any time from 7am to midnight. The same offer is available to Pennard responders - if any are interested. The ambulance station in question is in Neath, in what used to be Llandarcy refinery. We have been assured that the insurance issues are now resolved, so if any are interested contact Dem who will need to make the necessary arrangements with Steve Roberts and Richard Gronow, the station manager of Neath Ambulance station.

Please let Dem know of any uniform shortfall as he is trying to recycle the ones he has from previous members and bring everyone up to date with current needs.
Sunday 01/06/08   New recruits Eliot and Julie completed their training toady and we look forward to adding them to the rota once their occupational health and CRB checks have been completed. Most previously qualified FRs received additional blood management training and patient handling techniques from Bryn and both groups received comprehensive moving and handling training from Mike Jones.
Thursday 29/05/08   Handling and refresher training this coming Sunday (1 June). Please note that no food will be provided during the session (except perhaps for biscuits with our mid-morning tea/coffee – thanks Betty & Dem).  The schedule is handling training in the morning (starting at 9am) and refresher training in the afternoon. We should finish about 3:30 or 4pm.
Saturday 24/05/08  
Linda and Betty had a call at 4:40am to Three Cliff Nursing Home to a patient with breathing difficulties. The paramedics were there before they arrived - they got the call at 4:40am and arrived at Three Cliffs at 05.00am.
Wednesday 23/04/08   The AED now has its own hard shell case, with a compartment for spare pads. As advised by Steve Roberts the AED can now be carried separately and the middle compartment in the bag now contains the paediatric and adult BVMs and the paperwork. To lighten the weight even further the BP monitor has been moved to the green cylinder bag.

Allan and Fran used the new PCR (patient clinical records) reporting form for the first time last night and were frustrated by the lack of detail you are able to put on the form. As it's designed to be scanned I suppose that's intentional. When completing the new form please remember (if you have time!) to liaise with ambulance control regarding the times required, AMPDS code, etc. And the form to give to the ambulance crew is the pink one...
Wednesday 23/04/08  
There are some calls that you might prefer not to have just before you sit down to an evening meal and last night's was one of them.  Frances and Allan were called to attend a 78 year old gentleman who was reported to have fallen through a glass door.  On arrival they found him sitting on the bathroom floor with the family using towels to control bleeding from a rather nasty scalp laceration.  The glass door in question was for the shower and it was surprising to see that this appeared to be standard glass which had broken into lethal looking shards rather than toughened glass that would have shattered into harmless small pieces.  They bleeding had almost stopped but the patient's pulse rate was slow so they administered 100% oxygen until the arrival of the ambulance some 10 minutes later.  They stayed on scene assisting the crew and administering TLC to the patient's wife until he was taken to hospital.  The oxygen cylinder and mask were exchanged.  The moral of the story is to check that your shower door does have the relevant kite mark.
Tuesday 22/04/08  

Poor Jan has been hanging on to see whether her knees would improve enough for her to continue with First Responders but she reports that it's just not happening.  There are also other issues that are not allowing her to fulfil her commitments to the scheme. She has therefore reluctantly decided not to rejoin the rota for the foreseeable future, but will rejoin in the future should her knees improve. We are all very grateful for Jan's enthusiasm and commitment in the past and wish her well in the future.
Saturday 12/04/08  
Betty & Linda had a call last night at 01.30am to a Cardiac Arrest at Heatherslade Residential Home. On arrival the ambulance was already in attendance, and just about to leave, so they did not go in. The patient was DOA so no resusc. was necessary.
Wednesday 02/04/08   We have our new bag! Look at the photos to see where everything is kept in it. After using anything from the bag please ensure that you return it to the same location within the bag so that anyone on a subsequent call knows where to lay their hands on any item without wasting time searching all the compartments. Note that the photos are of one of the university bags, but the labelling shows where everything is in our bag. The A to Z is in the small pocket at the back of the bag.

We still have the green cylindrical bag in which you’ll find a spare oxygen cylinder, the torch and 2 charging plugs; one for the phone but I’m not sure what the other one is for. This bag can be left in the boot of your car while you’re on call.

I will give the old bags plus any spare OPAs, masks and dressings to Dem so he’s the man to see if you need to replace anything.
Tuesday 01/04/08   Frances and Allan had a call at midday to a 67 year old male in Southgate suffering with chest pains.  On arrival they found the patient sitting in his vehicle having blacked out twice while travelling as a passenger from Rhossili.  The oximeter showed his oxygen level as 98% with a regular pulse of 70.  He was reasonably alert and had a good colour so they judged that oxygen treatment was not called for at this time.  The RRV arrived some 10 minutes later and ran an ECG and took the patient's BP.  The patient then began to drift and F & A assisted the RRV paramedic to administer 100% oxygen.  The ambulance siren was heard in the distance but it was some considerable time before it appeared on the scene.  They returned to base after 30 minutes having been thanked by the crews for their assistance
Monday 24/03/08  
Laurie and Helen had a call in Pennard. Ambulance Control contacted Laurie very quickly after receiving the 999 call.  
The casualty was suffering from extreme pains in his lower abdomen and although being given oxygen was on the verge of passing out on several occasions.  The ambulance arrived after about 15 minutes (no RRV attended) and took him to Morriston hospital.
Thursday 20/03/08   Reluctantly, Emma has decided to stand down from the scheme. She now has a full time job and with a large family to look after can no longer find the time to regularly provide cover on the rota. I'm sure everyone is sorry to see Emma go as she has been a valuable member of the team. We wish her well in the future.

Our new kit bag has been dispatched from St John Ambulance in Cardiff and should arrive early next week.

The trainer AED is still stuck in the States. As far as I know there are no Cardiac Science Powerheart G3 AED trainers in the UK at the moment. Hopefully this delay won't be for too long. There is good news though; the Brad CPR manikin has arrived!

Training has been arranged for new volunteers in the community hall on the following weekends: Saturday 24th May, Sunday 25th May and Saturday 31st May, Sunday 1st June. Refresher training can be undertaken by trained first responders on the Sunday of the second weekend. Dem will ask the local shops to include flyers in the newspapers they deliver appealing for new volunteers and advertising the training.
Tuesday 18/03/08  
Allan and Fran had a call to an elderly lady in Kittle today reported to be having 'breathing difficulties'. On arrival they found her conscious but very pale and dizzy.  Despite the oximeter indicating a satisfactory level, her appearance and weak pulse suggested that 100% oxygen was appropriate. The RRV arrived about six minutes later and approved their course of action.  An ambulance crew arrived after a further 5 minutes or so by which time the patient was feeling a good deal better and was reluctant to be taken to Singleton for a check up.  The paramedics eventually contacted her GP on the phone and it was agreed that she should be released into the care of a close neighbour pending a GP visit in the afternoon.  The call took over an hour in total.
Wednesday 20/02/08   Wendy and Linda had a call last Wednesday night to Kittle. 93 year old woman fell at home. Ambulance on scene.
Wednesday 30/01/08   When Fran returns from holiday she'll arrange a meeting at the school - some time in early February. One of the agenda items will be sorting out a revised rota now that Linda Culverwell is on board and long-term absences have finished or are coming to an end.

A warm welcome to who Linda joined the rota last week and will partner Wendy on the Wednesday night shift. From next Monday Gary will partner Bill on the Monday afternoon shift. This means that unfortunately we now provide no cover from 06:00 on Thursday morning to 13:00 the following Monday. Dem has the names of 5 potential volunteers who could help to fill the gaps if and when they are trained - he's talking to Steve Roberts about this - and when Jane and Emma return to the rota it will also help populate the week.

As you know we have new forms to get used to; the new Incident Report Form and the new Equipment Check Sheet. The incident report form is not actually in use yet and has been issued to us for comments only at this stage. I'm copying the form for Dem to distribute. Please direct your comments back through Dem. The new equipment check sheets are kept in the red bag and should be completed at the start of each shift by the partner holding the kit. In practice, if there hasn't been a call then nothing should have changed...

When Alan returns from holiday we'll buy a new bag, like the ones used in the university, in which all the kit can be kept. This will simplify hand-overs and responding to calls.

If you've any other news you'd like included on this page please contact Jeremy.
Wednesday 05/12/07   All those who have booked please remember the annual dinner next Tuesday (11th December). The meal is 7pm for 7:30pm but Allan will demo our new pulse oximeter before we sit down to eat. Also, Dem will distribute our personal anti-septic gel bottles.
Wednesday 05/12/07   New phone – This is not a tetra phone, it’s a TETRAFIX phone which works with GPS. A trial using the new phone starts in the Newport/Gwent/Knighton area this week so the roll out will not now take place until well after Christmas. I’ve asked Steve Roberts which network it uses but he doesn’t know.

Steve Roberts’ job – Andrew Vaughan has resigned as first responder officer and Steve is being interviewed for the job (that he has being doing anyway for the past two and a half years!). If he gets it we should see more stability in the future planning for first responders in our area.

New incident report forms – Prototype expecting soon.

New Cardiac Science G3 AED – Allan is about to order this.

Training AED & CPR manikin - Jerry has written to the university senior management team requesting extra funds to purchase these items for the university scheme. He has requested that Pennard First Responders have access to the items on training nights. Alternatively, Pennard will contribute 50% of the cost (£250 for the training AED and £150 for the manikin divided by two) and the items will become 'a shared facility'. A decision is expected in a week or two.

New volunteer – Linda has not yet been cleared by the CRB, etc, and so cannot join the rota just yet.

Personal Antiseptic gel bottles - We will all be issued with one of these, and one will be put in the cylindrical green bag.

Monday 03/12/07  
Betty and Jan had a call out today at 10.26am and arrived on scene at 10.32am. The patient was a 29 y/o female in Pennard who had taken a newly prescribed medication that seemed to have had an adverse effect. She was complaining of feeling sick and clammy and her heart beat was racing over 200 according to the paramedic who arrived straight behind our intrepid duo - Jan was unzipping the bag to get out the oxygen when they arrived!
Wednesday 15/11/07   The ambulance service is arranging a training course for new volunteers in Llansteffan during January. The sessions will all take place at weekends or in the evenings. It's hoped that some of our volunteers 'waiting in the wings' will be able to take advantage of these courses.
Tuesday 13/11/07   Minutes of the general meeting on 12 November can be found here.
Monday 29/10/07   Our newest recruit, Linda Culverwell, has completed her training (at Swansea University) and now awaits clearance from the CRB before taking her place on the rota.
Wednesday 24/10/07   The next general meeting will be in Pennard school on Monday 12th November (7-9pm). You can see the online agenda here and the minutes of the last meeting (on 9 July) here.
Saturday 06/10/07   The past couple of months have been difficult. The training session for our new volunteers on 15/16 September was cancelled at the last minute and we've still not been able to arrange new dates. It's hoped that at least one volunteer can attend the university-based new volunteer training session on 24, 25, 26 and 29 October. Many of our shifts have inevitably been cancelled because of holidays taken at this time of year. This has been compounded by three members having hip replacement surgery. Slowly we are becoming a bionic group!

The refresher half-day session arranged for Saturday 6 October was also cancelled when the trainer failed to arrive - looks like a mix up in the arrangements! Pennard responders who can make it are welcome to attend the refresher training session at the university (room 703 in the Library & Information Centre) on Monday 22 October from 9am to 5pm. Dem, David, Betty and Jan have already been booked in.

Some good news! Betty has received a cheque for £1,500  from the Pennard Community Charity. This will fund our replacement defibrillator. She also had a good meeting with Steve Roberts recently who says that things are really moving. Apparently we are getting a new phone before Christmas. This will use new technology which, we are told, will improve reception. The new F.O.S manuals will arrive any day plus a green triangle to put in the back window of our cars to show we are carrying medical gasses. Steve also asked us to make sure that we adhere to road traffic laws at all times when responding to incidents on behalf of the Welsh Ambulance Service.

Betty has asked Murton Chapel to let her know when they are going to have a table-top sale. It will probably be later in October. Please hang on to any bric-a-brac you may have!
Saturday 18/08/07   During the refresher training a call was received at 11:11. Jeremy, Emma and Betty responded - with Steve Roberts following up behind. To call was to an elderly gentleman who had fainted and had cut himself as he fell. The casualty was conscious on arrival and was given oxygen and the wound dressed. The oxygen seemed to help immensely and his condition had improved by the time the ambulance arrived at 11:24. He was taken to Singleton for tests.
Saturday 18/08/07   Most of the Pennard first responder team received 4 hours (out of an annual requirement of 8 hours) refresher training in the community hall. Bryn and Steve from the ambulance service were the trainers. Topics covered included basic life support, airway management and defibrillation scenarios. Whilst the training took place the group were on call with control and received a call just after 11am (see above).
Tuesday 07/08/07  
Laurie and Helen had a call last night (6th Aug) at 3.15 am to Pennard to a male with abdominal pains. They gave the patient 100% oxygen and monitored him until the arrival of the ambulance.
Monday 06/08/07   Just a reminder to all responders in the group that the first session of annual refresher training will take place on Saturday 18th August, from 9am to 1pm in the small room in the community hall.
Monday 23/07/07  
Laurie and Helen had a call at 9.15 pm to Bishopston to an elderly person who had fallen in their home.  Although Laurie tried his hardest (whilst still remaining within the law), they were still overtaken in Bishopston by the ambulance!  They duly followed in it's slipstream only to find that the RRV was also present when they arrived on scene.  The ambulance crew invited them in and they stayed until the patient was taken to hospital even though there was very little we could actually do.  However, the paramedic and ambulance crew were all very pleasant and encouraged them to "keep up the good work"!
Monday 16/07/07  
Not quite a call this! But worth noting nevertheless.  At about 17.10 Ambulance Control phoned Bill to say they had a call for him. A 65 year old lady has slipped down outside the Heritage Centre and had a possible fractured wrist.   Before Bill could reply the controller said  "Oh sorry Bill, we have been told to expand your remit but this is not a call for you!"  It does seem that in future control will be sending us to more types of calls...
Saturday 14/07/07   Carnival day. A busy day in more ways than one! From a fundraising point of view the day was extremely successful in that we raised over £85 from selling books and bric-a-brac. I think it's safe to say that we had the busiest stall on the field. The weather helped of course and there seemed to be a record number of people in attendance this year. This money will add to the pot of cash we've collected so far to replace our AED in a year to 18 months time.

We also received no less than 3 calls for assistance whilst on duty at the carnival field. Only the third was an 'official' call from ambulance control, the other 2 being instigated by a member of the public and a community police officer respectively. The first call was to attend a member of the pipe band who was feeling unwell. The gentleman was in his 60s and had succumbed to the heat (he was wearing a heavy uniform). After administering oxygen he largely recovered and his colleagues were advised to take him home and call the out-of-hours GP service. The second call was to a lady in her 40s or 50s who was complaining about a severe headache. It transpired that she'd taken in excess of the recommended dose of paracetamol, plus other unknown painkillers her boyfriend was taking for a bad back, to combat the effects of flu. Her daughter was summoned and advised to take her to Singleton casualty. The third call came from ambulance control and requested us to attend an elderly lady on a nearby bus who was feeling unwell following an attack on the bus by youths throwing water bombs. Our team gave the lady oxygen and TLC until the RRV arrived and treated her before taking her to hospital. Well done all involved!
Tuesday 10/07/07   Minutes of last nights EGM can be found here. All go now for the carnival on Saturday! All we need is decent weather...
Sunday 08/07/07  
Sitting at the end of Vennaway Lane watching the BHF cyclists ride by can be a tad tedious - but not for Dem and Allan.  At 11:50 they had a call from control to attend an 85 year old male in Bishopston who had fallen and was complaining of hip pains.  Pausing only to grab the bags and ask the St John Ambulance to move their ambulance so that Dem could get his car out, the duo sped off towards Bishopston encountering lots of slow moving vehicles following the cyclists up the hill from Kittle quarry.  Dem quickly found the house only to be told by the owner that he knew nothing about a 999 call.  At this point the ambulance arrived complete with blue lights and sirens and stopped at another house - it appeared that our intrepid pair had either misheard or had been given the wrong address!  They offered the casualty a quick sniff of oxygen but he declined. The pair returned to base where they saw the RRV and also Adrian in the Reynolston landrover apparently responding to the same call.  The only thing missing was the Helimed team! 
Wednesday 27/06/07   An EGM has been arranged for 7pm on Monday 9th July at 7pm in the staff room of Pennard school. Agenda: Work out new rota arrangements and decide on a date for training session.
Tuesday 12/06/07  
Allan and Fran had a call to Heatherslade Road this afternoon to a 90 year old female who was reported to be vomiting and passing blood.  On arrival 4 minutes later they found her calm and alert and after asking about her medical history took no further action until the arrival of the RRV after a further 7 minutes.  The paramedic thanked them for attending before taking over.
Thursday 07/06/07  
Monday 4th June 9.15 pm
 Helen and Laurie were called to Southgate to attend to an 87 year old lady with chest pains.  When they arrived (before the ambulance for once!), the lady's chest pains had stopped but she was extremely cold and suffering rigors.  They administered oxygen and ensured that she was kept as warm as possible.  She was in good spirits and apart from the cold, did not appear to be in any discomfort.  The ambulance arrived approx 10 minutes after them and subsequently transported the lady to Singleton for further examination, although the crew felt that she had not actually suffered a heart attack.
 
Tuesday 5th June 12.15 am
Like buses, Helen and Laurie had gone months and months without any calls only to have a second one in the same night! This time they were asked to attend to an 80 year old female with breathing difficulties in Bishopston.  However the RRV was already in attendance by the time they arrived and they were asked by Control to Return to Base.  However, on their return they passed the ambulance with blue lights flashing travelling very slowly in the opposite direction.  They were flashed down and it was established that they were unable to find the address so Helen and Laurie led them to there. 
Tuesday 29/05/07  
Fran and Allan had a call this morning to Campion Gardens to attend an elderly gentleman who had fallen and was complaining of chest pains.  The dynamic duo set off only to be held up in Kittle by a slow moving caravan.  They arrived to find an ambulance crew already on site and no further action was taken.
Wednesday 22/05/07   Jeremy and Pauline got another call to Bishopston last night. Even though they responded as quickly as possible it still took 7 minutes from receiving the call to getting on scene, by which time the ambulance had already arrived (from Sketty). It was quite a scary sounding call, to a 1 month old male with breathing difficulties, but as it turned out the child was not in a serious condition and the paramedics doubted they would even take him to hospital. They decline the offer of assistance from 'our' crew but were very thankful that we had responded nevertheless.
Wednesday 22/05/07   The visit to the coastguard station at Tutt Head, Mumbles yesterday evening was very interesting and enjoyable. I'm sure we all learnt a lot more about the role of the modern coastguards and were made to feel very welcome. There are a few shots of the visit on the photos pages of our website.
Monday 14/05/07   Bill and Margaret had a call in Southgate on Monday to a gentleman with severe chest pains.  They assessed the situation, gave 100% oxygen and assisted the paramedics when they arrived.
Wednesday 02/05/07   There will be a general meeting on Monday May 21st at 7pm in the junior staff room at Pennard school. Topics to disscus include setting up a rota for Pennard Carnival, providing cover for the Gower bike ride and travel arrangements for the following evening (see below). Click here to see the agenda.

Betty has arranged a visit to the coastguard station at Tutt Head on Tuesday May 22nd at 8pm. I'm sure this will prove as interesting as the previous visits to ambulance control in Carmarthen and the air ambulance station at Fairwood. Please attend if you are able.
Friday 30/03/07  
Wendy and Dem had a call yesterday at 12:04 to Penmaen to a man who had lost the use of his legs. Wendy arrived at 12:08 and found the house, even though info was sparse, then waited for Dem to arrive.  The ambulance arrived a good 15 minutes later (possibly because Dem called in and gave a situation report so they realised that there was no need for blues and twos - more a case of a doctor, who the crew contacted).

Those present were certainly glad that they were there. Job done.
Saturday 24/03/07   Many of the group visited the air ambulance station at Fairwood airport. See here for photos.
Sunday 11/03/07   Many of the group visited Ambulance control at Carmarthen. See here for report and photos.
Tuesday 06/03/07   Last nights meeting was well attended and very useful. Please see here for minutes.
Thursday 01/03/07   Further to Allan and Fran's call-out on 07/02/07. There is now a universally accepted quick diagnosis of a stroke - FAST. See the Stroke page in the Medical Problems section of the website.
Thursday 01/03/07   Reminder of upcoming events:
    Monday 5th March at 7pm: Group meeting in the school. See agenda here.
    Sunday 11th March: Two visits to ambulance control in Carmarthen, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. Members to liaise with Betty regarding travelling arrangements.
    Saturday 24th March at 10am: Visit to the air ambulance facility at Fairwood Airport.
Wednesday 28/02/07  
David and Howard had a call during their shift today. The patient was an eighty year old lady living nearby who had been breathless for several hours during the night.  Her carer phoned for the ambulance when she arrived. Living so close David and Howard were there within a few minutes and immediately gave her 100% oxygen. She was much improved when the ambulance arrived 6 min later.
Thursday 15/02/07 We now have a very neat carry bag into which we've put the second oxygen cylinder. Along with the cylinder there are 28% and 100% masks, a selection of airways and the blood pressure monitor. It's suggested that when we arrive on scene now we need only take the new oxygen bag and AED from our cars to the casualty, leaving the big bag in the car for use later if necessary, e.g. if the original oxygen cylinder runs out.
Wednesday 14/02/07 Last Thursday Dem and Wendy got a call to a 91 year old gentleman in Pennard who'd fallen and was unconscious. Dem responded but was unable to contact Wendy. He made his way to the incident and once there contacted Jan who was able to act as his partner. When they arrived the man had regained consciousness and was sitting in a chair. Having decided not to offer oxygen Dem and Jan took the casualty's blood pressure and gave TLC until the ambulance crew arrived some minutes later.
Wednesday 14/02/07 The next group meeting will take place on Monday 5th March 2007 at 7pm in the staff room in the school.
Wednesday 07/02/07
Allan and Frances had a call yesterday. Allan writes "Frances had just starting to cook an evening meal when the phone rang.  'We don't have an ambulance immediately available - can you attend a call in Southgate' she was asked.  An elderly lady with a known heart complaint had been feeling unwell for several days but had suddenly deteriorated and the neighbours had called the emergency services.  We were on scene within a few minutes and found the lady with laboured breathing, unable to stand and with weakness in her left arm. The BP monitor gave a high reading (170/106) with a pulse of 56.  We administered 100% oxygen, monitored the lady's condition carefully and waited for the arrival of the paramedics.  And waited and waited and waited as the oxygen level in the bottle dropped steadily towards the empty mark.  Finally the ambulance arrived some 30 minutes later having come from Morriston Hospital.  The paramedic confirmed our suspicions that the lady had suffered a slight stroke.  He replaced our oxygen bottle with TWO full ones before taking the patient to Singleton for further treatment.  We returned home after 45 minutes on scene to find the food somewhat overcooked.  It is nice to see that local residents waited for our return from Spain before calling on our services!"  
 
Allan adds that the ambulance paramedic was extremely friendly and gave a rundown on the signs of stroke that the patient was exhibiting.
Friday 02/02/07 Please remember the refresher training session at Pennard school at 6:30pm on Monday 5th February.
Tuesday 26/12/06 Time to catch up with the news! Betty has taken over as co-ordinator from Dem. We are all very grateful to Dem for all the hard work he has put in over the past 2 years and wish Betty the best of luck.
Betty has arranged a refresher training session either at Pennard school staff room or in the hall (to be confirmed) at 18:30 on Monday 22 January 2007. All should make an effort to attend, otherwise there's a danger of "falling out of compliance". Anyone not able to attend should contact Betty who will try to get you "tacked onto" a refresher course for another group.
Now is the time to think about recruiting new members. Do you have friends, neighbours or acquaintances who may be interested in becoming a first responder? If so please talk to them about it. All being well, there will be a training session for new responders in February so we need to get cracking. We will also be organising the delivery of approximately 180 flyers to local households in the free local newspaper within the next few weeks.
Lastly, a happy and healthy new year to all our members - and all our readers!
Tuesday 28/11/06 A great night was had by all when the group had its annual dinner at Pennard golf club last Friday night. Many thanks to all who attended. The food was delicious, the drink went down too well and the company was brilliant. A few statistics for the past year:

We have received 24 calls in the 10½ months since the dinner on 6th January. [NB This is corrected to include Howard's first call!] In the year previous to that we received 28 calls - in 12 months. The average is therefore about the same as last year at about 2-2½ calls per month. We have received over 88 calls since the scheme started in April 2003. 

Where were the 24 calls

1 to Parkmill,1 to Kittle,1 to Manselfield, 2 to Nicolaston, 2 to Penmaen, 2 to Southgate, 4 to Murton, 5 to Bishopston, 6 to Pennard. 

We currently cover 74 out of 168 hours in each week, i.e. 44%. During the dinner last year it was reported that we were covering 55 hours each week, i.e. 32%, so there’s been a healthy increase of 12% in the coverage.
Sunday 12/11/06
On Saturday (yesterday) Emma was at home when the ambulance mobile rang (It had not been turned off even though she was not on call). Control asked if she could attend a call in Southgate and as she was up for it she rang Dem, who was at home cleaning his car, and asked him if he'd attend with her. He agreed and they were on scene before the ambulance arrived - strange as it  was only coming from Sketty. They administered oxygen and took a blood pressure reading before the paramedics took over.
Emma was quick to switch the phone off when she got home, but they were both happy to be able to attend!
Wednesday 08/11/06
Howard and Dave had a call out today to a 91 year old lady with breathing problems, following a chest infection. She was still breathing but with an irregular pulse and oxygen was given. The ambulance arrived within 3 minutes and continued with the oxygen, starting CPR soon after but ultimately without success. The defibrillator was connected but no shock was advised. The ambulance crew considered that nothing more could have been done.
Friday 27/10/06 After a long spell without any calls we had one Tuesday night. Jeremy & Pauline were called to a house in Bishopston to an 85 year old male with chest pains. Jeremy received the call at 00:45. By the time he and Pauline had dressed and driven to the scene 10 minutes had elapsed and they arrived to find the ambulance already there - parked in the drive! The crew claimed they had asked control to stand the responders down - though no such call had been received. They also declined an offer of help so our intrepid pair went back home to bed.
Tuesday 29/08/06
Allan and Frances had a call to a hypoglycaemic diabetic patient in Murton this afternoon.  On the way there they had a second call from Ambulance Control advising that the patient had a history of violence and suggesting that they should not enter the house before the paramedics arrived.  They found the address only just ahead of the RRV, the ambulance arriving a few minutes later with the helicopter circling overhead Murton Green.  It transpired that the patient was a 'regular' so be wary of calls to diabetics in Manselfield Road!  No action was required and Allan and Fran returned shortly afterwards.
Saturday 19/08/06 Wow, this is turning out to be a busy week! Emma and David got a call at 5:20 this morning to a patient in Penmaen who was suffering a severe asthma attack. They arrived at the same time as the ambulance 10 minutes after receiving the call.
Friday 18/08/06 Dem and Eleanor got a call last night at 23:15 to the same patient in Nicolaston that Jeremy & Pauline attended on Tuesday 11/04/06. Once again she was suffering breathing difficulties and had run out of her personal oxygen supply. Our intrepid duo were able to relieve her discomfort by giving her 100% oxygen until the RRV arrived 5 minutes later. The ambulance arrived at approx 23:32.

The paramedics replaced the half used oxygen cylinder with a full one. Dem's tip: When given a full cylinder always remove the red tabs before slotting the cylinder into the green kit bag.
Tuesday 15/08/06
How fast can you get to a call - very fast indeed when the patient lives 6 houses away!  Fran and Allan were called Tuesday afternoon to a 48 year old female suffering allergic reaction to a wasp sting.  Apparently the patient has suffered allergic reactions in the past and the family had already given her an epipen injection.  She was complaining of weakness and was pale and listless.  There were no signs of anaphylactic shock and her pulse was strong and regular.  The patient was treated with 100% oxygen until the RRV arrived some eight minutes later.   The oxygen bottle and mask were replaced by the ambulance crew.  On reporting back to control it was established that the 999 call had been made at 14:45 and the call to responders was made at 14:50.  So we managed to get well within the target response time on this occasion.
Saturday 12/08/06 Pennard First Responders had a stall at Bishopston Fete today. There was a good turn out of volunteers to answer questions from the public and generally increase the profile of the scheme in the area, and possibly attract new volunteers. A few second-hand books and Allan's hand-turned dibbles were sold to increase the funds slightly. Fran gave about a half dozen people free blood pressure checks and Betty kept everybody well topped up with tea and cakes! There are a few photos on the website here.
Tuesday 01/08/06
Laurie and Fran had a call to Bishopston at 12.27 today to a 3 year-old who had fallen 5 feet onto his head at playgroup.  His mother had taken him home but called the ambulance when he was sick and became drowsy.  RRV were in attendance when they arrived and they supervised 2 other children until a friend came to collect them.  The Air Ambulance attended and the child was flown to hospital.  Our intrepid two then returned one of the crew members to base at the airport. 
Tuesday 01/08/06
Two free Basic Life Support courses are to be held at the university on Wednesday and Thursday, 16th and 17th August from 10am to 2:30pm, including a break for lunch. People attending these courses will be permitted to assist a first responder on a call, i.e. they will be able to go on the rota - as long as their partner is a trained first responder.
 
Although this is not ideal, as we would really like extra trained first responders, it would help us in the Pennard scheme by adding to our pool of names for the rota. The only problem would be matching these new recruits to trained responders. Ultimately, when the new responder training resumes, full training will be given. If you know anyone who is currently waiting to join our scheme or indeed anyone else who would be interested, would you please let them know about this and ask them to contact Jeremy (01792 295105 [daytime] or email) so that he can include them in the arrangements.
Friday 28/07/06
Betty & Bill received a call at 10pm to an elderly lady with chest pains in Murton. Betty arrived just before the ambulance and Bill very soon after. The husband was also quite elderly and didn`t look too well himself so they stayed with him until his daughter arrived. They were able to reassure her about her mother's condition and give her the Singleton hospital case number before they left.
Saturday 15/07/06 Allan reports:
 
The weather for the Carnival this year was superb and initially we thought that attendance might be poor because of local people choosing to go to the beach.  In fact attendance was excellent.  Our pitch was on the opposite side of the field to our usual location and was next to the Wales Air Ambulance stand.  Laurie was there bright and early to erect the sign and Helen, Margaret, Frances, Garry, David and Allan helped to dress the stall.  Helen bravely elected to blow up balloons by mouth while Garry and Allan sensibly decided to use a small electrical tyre compressor instead.  We monitored Helen carefully but thank goodness she survived the experience without recourse to the oxygen bottle.
 
As usual we promoted the 'ICE' and 'Message in a Bottle' schemes and also handed out slips with the website address.  We also explained the new CPR protocol to several people who were familiar with the old technique but were unaware of the recent changes.  Annie was on display and the use of the defibrillator was demonstrated to a few interested passers by.  A new idea this year was to offer free blood pressure checks using Allan's BP monitor and this proved surprisingly popular.  We explained the First Responder Scheme to a number of people who had moved to the area recently and we had one person from Sandy Lane who was keen to join us.
 
We called Ambulance Control and booked onto duty for the period from 11am to 5pm....and we had a casualty!  One of the members of the South Gower Rugby Club dislocated his shoulder while taking part in the Sumo Wrestling.  Getting him out of the costume proved interesting but we were then at somewhat of a loss on how best to proceed!  Fortunately the patient seemed to be better informed than we were and by stretching his arm above his head managed to get his shoulder back into joint.  He asked if we could strap his shoulder and David using his initiative  borrowed a roll of gaffer tape from a neighbouring stall and made a highly presentable job of it.  Perhaps we should indent for rolls of gaffer tape for the bag.
 
A number of the other members spent some time with us including Betty, Bill, Emma and Howard (apologies to anyone I've forgotten).
Monday 10/07/06
Laurie and Helen were called to Murton to attend a 31yr old male diabetic in a coma.  When they arrived the RRV was already so they assisted until such time as the patient was conscious and eating and drinking.  By that time the ambulance had arrived (from Llanelli!) and, as it wasn't needed, departed pretty quickly.  The patient chose not to go to Casualty as he was due to visit the Clinic within a few days.
 
When reporting into Control with their times, they were advised that the 999 call was made at 19:17 but they weren't called until 19:31. Dem is taking up this matter with control.
Wednesday 05/07/06
David and Howard got a call to a 31 year old man in Murton who suffers from diabetes. His father had returned home and found him in a hypoglycaemic state. By the time they received the call he was already unconscious and although they knew he needed sugar it was going to be difficult to administer - as he unconscious. Fortunately the paramedics were already there, had given him a shot of glucose and he was starting to come round, if somewhat confused. His recovery was very fast and after some sugar solution by mouth he was soon back to normal. They were able to help the paramedics and talk to his father. It seems his condition is not well controlled and such incidents are not uncommon.
Tuesday 27/06/06 Howard gets his first call! At 9.10a.m Howard and Jan got a call from ambulance control "to attend a 60year male in Bishopston- heavy bleed from leg". They arrived on scene in seven minutes, just behind the RRV. The paramedic team treated the casualty for a bleed from a varicose vein low on the left leg.  After a  brief chat with the crew, and thanks from the wife of the casualty, they left  - just as the ambulance arrived. Back home at 9:40 for tea and crumpets!
Tuesday 20/06/06 The meeting last night was pretty well attended and everybody took a full part in it. The minutes are on the website here.
Tuesday 20/06/06 Training on Saturday was very enjoyable and informative. We learned about the new CPR protocol - a major change in the way we should treat patients. The relevant pages in the reference section of our website will be altered in due course, but in the meantime you can see the new guidelines on the Resuscitation Council's website at http://www.resus.org.uk/pages/bls.pdf. We also saw the LUCAS automated CPR machine in operation and we were warned that we may come across this during future calls as they are now being carried on all RRVs. After a break we acted out several scenarios designed to get us thinking about the circumstances we may confront and the corresponding actions we should take as first responders. Photos of the training sessions can be seen here.
Wednesday 07/06/06 Please note that the refresher training on Saturday 17 June will take place in the community hall in Pennard NOT at Cefn Coed. Dem also confirms that Gerrard will take the session.
Friday 02/06/06 There will be a refresher training session (i.e. NOT for new recruits) at Cefn Coed on Saturday 17 June at 10:00am. Would all members please make an effort to attend. Remember, we are supposed to attend refresher training every 6-12 months. If we fail to do that we fall "out of compliance" and cannot take part on the rota.
Friday 02/06/06 Don't forget the next group meeting on Monday 19 June at 7pm in Pennard School. Click here to see the agenda.
Wednesday 24/05/06 Jeremy & Pauline got a call at 03:56 this morning to a 66 year old woman in Manselfield (once again on the limit of our area!) with chest pains. Pauline arrived immediately behind the ambulance at about 04:07, so once again there must have been a bit of a delay before we were called. After being told by the paramedics that they didn't required any assistance the pair returned home at about 04:12.
Saturday 13/05/06 Laurie picked up a range of sizes of new OPAs this week and passed them on to David to put in our green bag.
Thursday 11/05/06 We've been told that First Responder training is under review. This means that the training session for our new recruits will be delayed (yet again!). Let's hope that the new system is more dynamic than the present one.
Wednesday 10/05/06 We were running out of incident report forms so Dem has put a new pad in the red bag. We all know that the current form is a little confusing and you have to leave many of the sections blank when you fill it in. There's a rumour that a new form is being designed...
Tuesday 09/05/06 David and Bill received a call during their shift yesterday to a 94 year old gentleman in Kittle with chest pains. They arrived at the same time as the ambulance and were able to assist with treating the patient and later helped to free the ambulance after it got stuck in the grass!
Monday 01/05/06 Our stall at the May Fayre in Bishopston attracted a fair amount of attention and raised our profile in Bishopston. It was a cold afternoon but thankfully a dry one. The CPR demonstrations proved to be popular with the kids and a fair amount of interest in the scheme was shown by a number of adults. Betty seemed to know everybody and was actively promoting the scheme and looking for potential volunteers. Bill brought along some books to sell and their sale added over £5 to our funds. All in all a successful afternoon. See the photos here.
Monday 01/05/06 Betty gets her first call! She and Jan (2nd call) received a call at 9:21 to a local care home where a lady of 90 was reported to be vomiting and have chest pains. Jan arrived first to find that the casualty was suffering from abdominal pains rather than chest pains. Betty arrived soon afterwards and the two were able to give some reassurance and TLC until the ambulance arrived some minutes later.
Friday 28/04/06 Dem has discovered that the OPAs in our bag are out of date and should be removed. This he's done, so there are no OPAs in the bag now. He' been trying to get a new set from Andrew's stand-in (Andrew is on sick leave), but is having difficulty contacting him. He'll keep trying!
Friday 21/04/06 At last one of our new members gets a call! Jan and Garry received a call today to an elderly male who had collapsed in a local club. They arrived before the ambulance to find the casualty conscious, but he'd grazed his face during the fall. As they were getting the oxygen ready to deploy  the ambulance turned up so they handed control to the paramedics and aided them until they took the casualty to hospital.
Wednesday 19/04/06 Another call to Jeremy & Pauline at just after 2:30 of this morning. It was to a 75 yr old woman who was reported to be unconscious. Even though the response was quick and the journey time short the ambulance was already in attendance when they arrived on scene. They helped the paramedics to prepare the patient, who was conscious by this time, for dispatch to hospital then helped carry her (on a medic chair) downstairs and into the ambulance. They left the scene at 03:15.
Tuesday 11/04/06 This was a busy day! We actually received 2 calls today; one during the Barham's shift and another during the evening when Jeremy and Pauline were on call.
The Barham's call was at 11am to a 35 year old female who had collapsed in the ladies locker room at the Golf Club.  They arrived within 3 minutes to find that she had been placed in the recovery position but was drifting in and out of consciousness.  Her pulse was very weak.  They gave her 100% oxygen and as she started to recover, propped her into a sitting position and covered her with blankets to keep her warm.  She had apparently collapsed after getting changed after a shower and as she recovered she complained of a violent headache.  The paramedics arrived after 10 minutes and carried out further tests in the locker room before moving her to the ambulance.  They left the scene at 11:25.
Jeremy and Pauline got a call shortly after 8:19pm to a 79 year old female with breathing difficulties in Nicholaston (which you would think would be served by Reynoldston wouldn't you?). Finding the house took a few minutes, but luckily the patient wasn't in a serious condition. They gave her oxygen and TLC whilst waiting for the ambulance. After 20 minutes or so this was seen flashing past on the south Gower road disappearing into the distance. After another 15 minutes (by which time the oxygen had run out!) Jeremy contacted ambulance control who said the crew were lost.  He gave them directions to pass on to the crew who eventually arrived on scene at about 9:15pm  - having come all the way from Tumble!! After a brief examination the patient was taken by ambulance to Singleton hospital.
Tuesday 28/03/06
A 72 year old female fell while walking her dog on the golf course this morning.  Fortunately the club groundsman saw her and rescued her with his all-terrain vehicle and brought her back to her house in Pennard Drive.  Fran and Allan received a call from Control at 8:12 and were on scene at 8:15. The patient was in exceptionally good spirits but had a badly swollen ankle - possibly broken. They left her on the vehicle making sure that she was warm by wrapping her in blankets. There were no apparent signs of shock so they judged that oxygen was not necessary at that stage. They administered TLC until the RRV arrived at 8:21 followed 5 minutes later by the ambulance. They left her with the professionals at 8:26 by which time she was clearly enjoying the attention of all these handsome young men in green uniforms!
Monday 27/03/06
Bill and Margaret had another call today in Bishopston.  An 80 year old female said to be breathing but unconscious.  They were overtaken in Bishopston Road by the support vehicle for the Air Ambulance (with sirens blaring!!). By the time Bill and Margaret arrived, they were getting their equipment out of their vehicle. The patient had regained consciousness by this time. Our intrepid pair left the treatment to the medics who took pulse, blood pressure and gave oxygen.
Bill notes this interesting point:  After the ambulance arrived the patient kept asking to be taken home and did not wish to go to hospital. The ambulance crew said they could not take her home, they could only recommend that she went to hospital for a check-up or, if she chose to refuse treatment, she would have to make her own way home. They added that if Bill and Margaret took her home they would be accepting responsibility for her.
Wednesday 22/03/06 Margaret & Bill were called out last Monday to a gentleman with chest pains in Pennard. He was conscious but in pain. After taking his pulse and asking a few questions they decided to give him oxygen - at which time the RRV arrived, followed 6 minutes later by the ambulance.
Wednesday 01/03/06 The training session planned for 10th/11th March has been postponed and will now take place in late April or even May. Dem will provide details as and when he gets them.
Tuesday 28/02/06 Jeremy & Pauline had a call tonight to Three Cliffs Nursing Home, where a 51 year old male was having breathing difficulties. Because of the icy conditions it took about 8 minutes from getting the call to getting on scene. The casualty was poorly and the breathing laboured and 'bubbly'. They administered oxygen and waited for the paramedics to arrive (about 10 minutes later). After a brief examination the casualty was taken by ambulance to hospital accompanied by a member of staff from the home. Incidentally, the paramedics had difficulty taking a pulse, which was a relief the Jeremy as he hadn't been able to find one either!
Friday 24/02/06 The Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust is currently running a recruitment drive for First Responder volunteers in South East Wales. This page on their website gives a few good examples of how First Responders can and do save lives.
Friday 24/02/06 The agenda for the meeting to take place on Monday 27 February at 7pm in Pennard school is available here.
Tuesday 14/02/06 The next full meeting of Pennard First Responders will be in the staff room at Pennard School on Monday 27 February at 7 pm. Would all members please attend if they are able. If you'd like to add an agenda item please email Dem.
Wednesday 08/02/06 Laurie and Helen were called out on Monday night (6th). As Laurie was ringing control to tell them they were on duty they told him that there was a call for them! So the call (to Southgate) was logged at 7.05 pm. It was an elderly gentleman with chest pains who appeared to suffering an angina attack. His normal medication hadn't worked so they gave him oxygen. The RRV arrived about 2/3 minutes later and the ambulance about 7 minutes after that. Once the paramedics gave him a squirt from a new 'puffer' he improved dramatically.
Monday 23/01/06 Four of our five new members start on the rota this week. When the fifth joins next week our weekly cover will rise to 71 hours, one hour less than the record a year or so ago. This represents 42% coverage of the week when everybody is on duty. We still have 6 or 7 people awaiting training so that figure could rise significantly in the future. Watch this space!
Monday 09/01/06 A fine time was had by all at the new year dinner at Pennard golf club on Friday evening. Congratulations to Fran and Allan for receiving the inaugural FART award! Photos from the night can be seen on the photos page.
Tuesday 03/01/06 Who else but Allan and Fran were today asked to attend a 75 year old female in the Bishopston area suffering from breathing difficulties.  This was their first opportunity to try out in anger the new Satnav device that Allan had received for Christmas and it guided them unerringly to the incident.  However, the ambulance must have had an equally good route-finding device because it arrived just ahead of them!  Having established that their services were not needed they returned home.
Sunday 25/12/05 Allan and Fran got a call last Tuesday (20 December) at 08:08 to attend a lady in Bishopston reported to be suffering from Breathing difficulties. They took quite a while to get on scene