A LONG-SERVING community first responder has launched a crowdfunding appeal for a replacement car.

Effie Cadwallader, who has attended more than 3,000 emergency call-outs, has been highly praised for her dedicated service to reacting rapidly to life-threatening emergencies along the Wrexham and Shropshire border.

She is now responding for the Welsh Ambulance Service, still covering some of the same area, but without a scheme car.

She explained: "First responders receive no funding from any official source.

"As volunteers, we must raise sufficient money to pay for all our uniform and equipment.

"Previously, when I volunteered with a neighbouring ambulance service, I managed to raise enough to finance a car, and with the help of local businesses and private donations, the running costs were covered.

"Now that I'm with the Welsh Ambulance Service, I miss the former car that I was using and I’m hoping the communities I serve will give me their support."

As a member of the Wrexham Rural First Responders team, which sees all of its volunteers responding for the Welsh Ambulance Service Trust, Ms Cadwallader still attends calls in her home village of St Martins and the surrounding communities, while her 'patch' now extends to include Chirk, Llangollen, the Ceiriog Valley, Overton, Penley, Bettisfield and the outskirts of Ellesmere.

Ms Cadwallader has set up a crowdfunding target of £10,000 via her GoFundMe page.

In addition to the purchase price of the car, an extra £1,000 must be found to cover other costs such as insurance, plus another £1,000 a year for running expenses, including the road fund licence, servicing and MOT.

She added: "The car would not belong to me personally, but to the Wrexham Rural CFR group, which has over 30 active members.

"I anticipate that a car would be booked with us for several hours a day, seven days a week and by having a dedicated car, will result in a faster and more efficient response to calls.

"It can be loaded up and ready to go, with all the equipment required on a daily basis so there is no need to transfer equipment from car to car and risk leaving behind something essential.

"A dedicated car would also make it easier to transport the manikins and training defibrillators used by CFRs when delivering defibrillator awareness courses across the Wrexham and North Shropshire regions."

Community first responders are trained by the ambulance service and deployed to attend 999 medical emergencies, including incidents involving cardiac arrests, strokes, choking, diabetic and other life-threatening incidents.

They will usually be the first on scene to assess the patient and begin treatment until the professional crew arrives.

Unpaid volunteers like Ms Cadwallader receive on-going training from WAST (Welsh Ambulance Service Trust), which includes how to use oxygen, trauma bandages and other medical essentials as quickly as possible, but they must raise the money themselves to fund all other equipment such as kit bags, defibrillators and uniforms.

Along with other WAST community first responders, Ms Cadwallader, has been responding throughout the Covid-19 crisis, both to emergencies and as a member of the ‘Falls Van’ team, which has attended more than 300 unhurt fallers across North Wales.

They do this by using specialised equipment to help them up again, checking them over, and summoning other resources as required, keeping shielding patients safe and freeing up the emergency ambulances for higher priority calls.

To make a donation, visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/effies-community-first-responder-car

For information about donating to Ms Cadwallader directly, contact aloevera13@outlook.com