England’s Chief Medical Officer visits LIVES

England’s Chief Medical Officer has been on a fact-finding mission to Lincolnshire to investigate emergency care in rural areas.

Sir Chris Witty visited LIVES to learn more about how the charity supports rural and under-served communities by delivering rapid, life-saving care where access to medical services can be limited.

Sir Chris met with the LIVES team, to understand how the charity’s voluntary responder network and medical response services help bridge gaps in rural response. 

With long travel distances, dispersed populations, and limited access to hospital services, Lincolnshire presents unique challenges for emergency care, which LIVES has been addressing for over 50 years.

LIVES plays a critical role in responding to medical emergencies across the county through its Community First Responders, Medic Responders, and Critical Care Responders, alongside it’s Community Emergency Medicine Service (CEMS) and Falls Response Service. Together, these services help ensure patients receive timely assessment, treatment, and reassurance in their own communities, often before an ambulance arrives and frequently avoiding unnecessary hospital admission.

Sir Chris saw first-hand how LIVES brings senior clinical decision-making, advanced diagnostics, and treatment directly to patients in rural settings, supporting better outcomes 

“This is an incredibly impressive system for supporting the people of Lincolnshire – so that, in rural areas, people get very high-quality care delivered, often to their doorsteps, allowing them to stay at home, as well as dealing with major emergencies,” said the Government’s top medical adviser.

LIVES CEO Nikki Cooke added: “Lincolnshire’s geography means that people can live a long way from emergency care, and that’s where LIVES makes a real difference. Our volunteers and clinical teams bring life-saving skills, senior clinical decision-making, and compassionate care directly into communities when every minute matters. We were proud to demonstrate how our response can plug critical gaps in rural healthcare, working alongside the ambulance service and NHS partners to ensure patients get the right care, at the right time, as close to home as possible.”