Busy year for LIVES
LIVES attended more than 2,500 emergencies in 2024 ensuring people facing a medical crisis got the help they needed as quickly as possible.
The Lincolnshire-based emergency response charity’s mission is to provide emergency care in critical medical situations through volunteer Community First Responders who take 999 calls.
Its review of 2024 highlights this work as volunteers attended 2,578 emergencies and LIVES also trained 1,548 people in life-saving skills.
Volunteer CFRs play a vital role in providing immediate assistance in medical emergencies, often arriving on the scene before an ambulance and in 2024 LIVES volunteers responded to a wide range of incidents, from life-threatening situations to providing reassurance and care to those in distress.
Community First Responder Annie Wakeford explained why she volunteers: “As responders, we are everyday people serving our communities as CFRs. 2024 has been a great year for sharing our skills and knowledge teaching bystander CPR to members of our communities, a skill that can make so much difference.
“When on call I have met some people at their most vulnerable who have welcomed me into their homes and trusted me with their care until the ambulance arrives.
“It's a very privileged position that I have. It’s a voluntary role, the thanks and gratitude I receive from patients and their friends and family is payment in itself.
Will I still be responding in 2025? I remind myself daily of why I joined LIVES over nine years ago and that reason is to be there in my local community when minutes really do matter. As long as my knees keep bending and my back allows me to. I’ll be there.”
Above Annie Wakeford with her special edition medal to celebrate the King’s Coronation which recognised people who put themselves on the front line to help communities.