Ambulance UK October 2021

NEWSLINE
AMBULANCE UK - OCTOBER
SECAmb
Little Lila and
lifesavers special
guests as Duke of
Cambridge marks
Emergency Services
Day
A 5-year-old girl from Rainham,
Kent, and the off-duty SECAmb
and Kent Fire and Rescue
Service members of staff who
saved her life were special
guests as HRH The Duke of
Cambridge marked Emergency
Services Day on 9 September.
Lila Page attended the royal
engagement at Dockhead Fire
Station, South London, with
mum Tracey Bell, ambulance
technician, Charlotte Speers along
with on call fire-fighters Marc
Rustage and James Knight.
Lila was successfully resuscitated
by the trio after she collapsed in
March 2020. Charlotte was at The
Railway pub in the town when she
heard a commotion and the pub
manager shouting for someone to
call an ambulance.
Upon investigating, Charlotte
found little Lila on the floor,
unconscious and not breathing
and immediately started CPR.
By luck, also in the pub off duty
were Marc and James, who are
part of the joint ambulance/fire
co-responder scheme. Marc
supported Charlotte in treating
Lila while James fetched a
defibrillator from the nearby fire
station (although this wasn’t
needed).
Ahead of the ambulance crew
arriving they managed to get
Lila breathing again. Following
further treatment and tests, it was
subsequently discovered that
Lila has a heart condition. She
has since had surgery at Great
Ormond Street Hospital and is
doing very well.
Charlotte, who was on maternity
leave at the time but who has
since returned to duty for
SECAmb at Medway Make Ready
Centre said: “It was a real honour
to meet the Duke and to represent
all my colleagues. I had never
done a paediatric resus before
and having no equipment as well,
I was feeling rather overwhelmed.
Having the support of Marc and
James made the situation easier.
They should be very proud of
everything they did. I’m really
pleased that Lila is doing so well
and it was lovely to meet her
and her mum. It’s a day we’ll all
remember forever.”
Tracey said: “We were honoured
to be invited to meet the Duke
and celebrate the well-deserved
recognition of our heroes.
Words could never express how
grateful we are that they saved
our daughters life. Seeing my
daughter’s lifeless body lying
there was the worst experience of
my life.
“I will never forget the help that
Charlie, Marc and James gave
while off duty, nor will I ever
forget Charlie grabbing my hand,
placing it on Lila’s chest and say,
‘she’s breathing’. One silver lining
from this horrendous event has
not only brought back my little girl
but it’s also given me a life-long
friend in Charlie.”
Charlotte, Marc and James will
receive a special award for their
actions at SECAmb’s annual staff
awards ceremony which takes
place in October.
Frontline Coffee
Launches ‘Lift Off’
Blend in Support of
Air Ambulances UK
An online coffee charity
founded by firefighters for
frontline workers launches ‘Lift
Off’ coffee in support of the
UK’s air ambulance charities
Frontline Coffee was set up by
firefighters Matt Broxton and Tom
Taylor in 2018 and took off during
last year’s national lockdowns.
Their mission is to raise money for
frontline charities and so far have
raised over £20,000 for charities
that support the people of our
emergency and health services.
As part of Air Ambulance Week,
they have announced their
support for Air Ambulances UK
with their latest product the ‘Lift
off’ blend. This is a medium
roast coffee with a classic Italian
espresso taste offering an after
taste of chocolate.
Air Ambulances UK champions,
represents, and supports the
lifesaving work of the UK’s air
ambulance charities, enabling
them to save even more lives
every day.
When the public purchase
Frontline Coffee’s ‘Lift Off’ blend,
a minimum of £1.50 per 250g bag
is donated.
Air ambulance charities are
collectively dispatched to
over 80 lifesaving missions
each day across the UK; each
mission is funded almost
entirely by donations. Though
air ambulances are part of the
regional 999 response service and
work closely with NHS hospitals,
each of the 21 air ambulances
in the UK are charities. By
purchasing Frontline Coffee’s
Lift Off blend, customers will be
helping air ambulance charities
save even more lives.
Emma Carter, Head of
Fundraising and Sustainability for
Air Ambulances UK said
“We are very excited for Frontline
Coffee to launch Lift Off coffee in
support of Air Ambulances UK. It
is well known that air ambulances
crews across the country are
fuelled by coffee, so it is great
to be able to work with Frontline
Coffee to develop a coffee in
support of the UK’s air ambulance
charities.”
Matt Broxton, Founder of Frontline
Coffee says “We are delighted to
announce our partnership with
Air Ambulances UK by adding
‘Lift Off’ to our charity coffee
range. Supporting air ambulance
charities across the UK is so
important as they rely almost
entirely on donations. Money
raised from the sale of this coffee
is going to really help with the lifesaving
work carried out by these
amazing teams every day.”
To purchase ‘Lift Off’ coffee and
support Air Ambulances UK, visit
the Frontline Coffee website:
https://frontlinecoffee.co.uk/.
Increased antibody
testing will avert
Plan B, says expert
Increased antibody testing
will give a far clearer picture
of how well our resistance to
Covid-19 is maintained this
winter. That’s vital to help the
Government avoid imposing
passports, working from home
and compulsory masks, says
London Medical Laboratory.
Concern is growing that
the number of Covid-19
hospitalisations could suddenly
soar this winter. That would
trigger the Government’s ‘Plan
B’ response, this ‘last resort’
would include measures such
as requiring people to work
from home, introducing vaccine
passports and reintroducing
compulsory face masks.
The leading Covid-19 testing
expert, Dr Quinton Fivelman,
Chief Scientific Officer at London
Medical Laboratory, says more
widespread antibody testing will
flag diminishing resistance and
identify many of the individuals
most at risk of hospitalisation,
158
For more news visit: www.ambulanceukonline.com