First-aid lifesavers

RICHARD EDMONDSON

They don't announce their arrival at the scene of an accident with a wailing siren.

And their lifesaving work is often invisible to the community they serve.

But the first-aid skills of two Umawera women have sometimes meant the difference between life and death for people they have helped.

Umawera First Response Group members Stephanie Oliver and Sharon Whittaker have attended 111 emergency callouts under the auspices of the Order of St John for more than a year.

From cardiac arrests to car accidents, there aren't many types of emergency the volunteer first-aid workers haven't dashed to in their cars.

"Our main job is to get there first," says Stephanie, who is a qualified ambulance officer.

"We need to decide, 'do we need a helicopter? Do we need paramedics for airway care?"'

Stephanie and Sharon are often able to stabilise patients before the ambulance arrives.

"There is some very basic first-aid you can do to save someone's life," Stephanie says.

"Sometimes, it's as little as sitting someone up."

They offered pain relief to an electricity linesman, who suffered a shock and was badly burned at Rangiahua last month, within minutes of his accident.

"We already had him on a stretcher when the Rescue Helicopter arrived," she says.

"They just needed to put an intravenous line in him and they were off."

Stephanie says she decided to form the Umawera First Response Group after a farm worker died from a brain

aneurism while felling trees near her Orira Rd home.

''It took an hour for the ambulance to come from Kaitaia. I thought that was a little bit scary.

''I'm from Chicago. I assumed you called 111 and it would be here in minutes.''

She spent nearly two years learning first-aid with St John in Kaikohe, fitting courses and unpaid shifts with ambulance crews around family life and farm work.

'You have to get to a level where you can handle most accident and emergency situations.''

She is the most qualified officer in the 15-member group, which responds to 111 callouts in the Umawera area 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

''We can respond to three or four emergencies in a week, or only one a month.''

Sharon, who is trained in advanced trauma care, says she thrives on the adrenaline of the job and gains a lot of satisfaction from helping people and saving lives.

''We do a high-five after every job and say, 'we're good'.''

It makes sense for communities to run firstresponse groups because members know where patients live and know of pre-existing medical conditions, she says.

''Nine times out of 10, you know the person you're going to see.''

But running a volunteer emergency service costs money and is a big responsibility for the Umawera group to shoulder, she warns.

''We have good community support, but we need more people to put their hands up.''

Sharon urges people in rural areas to learn basic first-aid so they are better prepared to deal with accidents and medical emergencies.

''It's a must. Everybody should know it.''

To contact Umawera First Response, phone Stephanie Oliver on 401 8882 or email: stephanieoliver16@gmail.com.

- © Fairfax NZ News