Learn life saving skills in Steyning

The local responders are all trained in accordance with South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb) guidelines and they work closely with their Technicians and Paramedics.

The team’s primary goal is to attend life threatening events and then to provide first aid as soon as possible and sustain life until the ambulance arrives. All responders are equipped with defibrillators as part of their standard kit.

A natural extension of the Steyning Area First Responder’s (SAFER) charity work was to set up public access defibrillators to provide even speedier access to this vital life saving technology.

In 2013 SAFER purchased 3 telephone kiosks from BT that were due to be decommissioned; these are in Steyning High Street, Bramber and Hyde Square, Upper Beeding. We then arranged for the installation of defibrillators in secure heated cabinets, inside each of these three telephone kiosks.

This in turn provides access to a functioning defibrillator, which will save vital seconds and minutes when help is crucially needed.

On April 26 the Steyning Area First responders will be holding a “Defib day” at the Steyning Health Centre to demonstrate how to use a defibrillator and provide some basic life saving skills. Our qualified trainers will be running 4 sessions at 10:00, 11:00, 12:30 and 13:30.

The sessions are open to the public, and all are welcome to attend. We have invited members of The Steyning & District Chamber of Trade along as they will be in the front line should help be needed.

If you would like to attend any one of these sessions, please contact Stephanie Grant on 01903 816138 or email [email protected], this will help us to ensure that each session is run for optimum numbers.

Report contributed by Denis Cummings, Steyning Area First Responders trustee.