Le Mont Saint Garage has sponsored two vehicles which will be used by St John Community First Responders (CFR).

The Fiat 500 Abarth cars will be used by the volunteers in their daily life over the next 12 months and each vehicle will carry a defibrillator (AED) and other life-saving equipment.  The cars, which have been branded with CFR for maximum awareness, are small with good performance making them ideal for the island’s roads.

The CFR scheme, which St John set up in 2012, sees volunteers in the community make themselves available to be dispatched by the Joint Emergency Services Control Centre (JESCC) to attend a potentially life-threatening emergency.  CFRs are alerted to an emergency call at the same time as an ambulance is deployed and because they are already out in the community they can be the first person to reach the patient, sometimes making a difference between life and death.

Deputy chief officer of St John Emergency Ambulance Service, Alison Marquis said; “Le Mont Saint Garage’s donation is extremely generous and this practical support is invaluable to St John.  Our CFR’s do not take the place of the services’ instant response but the support they provide, with perhaps early defibrillation and other life-saving skills in those first few minutes following a ‘999’ call, can make a massive difference.”

Sales director of Le Mont Saint Garage, Peter Beausire said; “As a local garage we saw this as a hugely worthwhile cause that will aid those in our community who need immediate medical help. We hope these vehicles help the St John volunteers provide lifesaving care and support.”

In Guernsey last year 260 patients benefitted from CFR responses.

Research shows that cardiac arrest victim’s chances of survival decrease by 10% for every minute without defibrillation. A sequence of four events, known as the ‘Chain of Survival’; early access (activating the emergency services), early basic life support with cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR), early defibrillation (an electric shock to the heart) and early advanced care in the form of paramedic intervention significantly increases the possibility of survival.  CFR’s are crucial to the second and third link of this chain.

Le Mont Saint Garage – St John Ambulance – Community First Responder vehicles.