A VOLUNTEER has been praised for his efforts in saving the life of a severely ill patient during an emergency call-out.

Owen Martin, an enhanced community first responder from Silloth, administered CPR to a patient during a call-out at the end of last year and this has since led to the patient surviving and being discharged from hospital.

Mr Martin said: “When you get the details through on your pager your adrenaline is automatically going but when you see it’s cardiac arrest your senses become heightened.”

First responders are issued with a short description on the pager so they know what type of emergency they are responding to.

On this particular call, the patient was showing signs of cardiac arrest meaning Mr Owen needed to give CPR.

“Giving CPR is very strange, it feels completely different to giving it on the dummy and you often break people’s ribs giving it,” added Mr Owen.

“It’s great to know you’ve helped them to breathe again because you know the chances of getting them back are low.”

Since this callout Mr Martin has received a letter from North West Ambulance Service praising him for his actions and management of the patient.

The letter said: “Following the clinical audit of this call, I am delighted to inform you that as a direct result of your actions and management of this event the patient survived and was later discharged from hospital.”

It explains how it is often impossible to identify if the contributions of first responders and paramedics have a direct influence on the overall outcome but cardiac arrest is an exception to this.

The letter added: “On this occasion your actions resulted in a life being saved and I would like to take this opportunity to praise the contribution you made in the care of the above patient and hope you have similar success in the future.”

Peter Gilmour, team chairman of Silloth Community First Responders has also praised Mr Martin and the rest of the team’s efforts. He said: “On behalf of the community and visitors to Silloth and as co-ordinator of Silloth First Responders, I would like to thank all of the team for their time and dedication that they give up to the team of which many people are alive today if it was not for them and local crews.”

Mr Martin has been a first responder for more than two years and has recently trained to be an enhanced community first responder which gives him extra skills and means he can attend a wider range of calls.

Mr Martin added: “I’ve always wanted to do further training. I really enjoy it and it’s something really good and important to give back to the community. Especially living in a rural area being able to provide support and use these enhanced skills.”