A team of dedicated volunteer doctors is appealing for donations to help support their life-saving work in Cumbria as they approach one of their busiest periods.
Members of BEEP Doctors (BASICS Cumbria) have responded to 228 incidents across Cumbria in just over a year, including road traffic accidents, cardiac arrests and trauma-related events such as falls, recreational accidents and farming incidents.
The group is urging businesses and individuals to consider giving funds to the charity.
“We rely entirely on public donations and the support of funders to keep going,” said BEEP Doctors’ Operations Manager Jo Blackburn. “Without that support, this life-saving service simply wouldn’t exist. It costs about £250,000 a year to operate the BEEP Doctors service, which receives no Government or NHS funding.”
Cumbria’s BEEP Doctors, who are all volunteers, provide enhanced pre-hospital emergency medical care. They work closely with the police and fire services, North West Ambulance Service paramedics, the Great North Air Ambulance Service and North West Air Ambulance.
At incidents BEEP Doctors can carry out some surgical procedures, such as inserting chest drains; some can perform pre-hospital anaesthetics and all are able to administer drugs that most road crew paramedics cannot, such as ketamine/fentanyl to give pain relief and allow fracture manipulation.
“We have been incredibly fortunate in recent years to benefit from some amazing fundraising efforts, as well as generous legacy gifts, but we need to engage with more people and workplaces to make this kind of support a more regular occurrence,” said Jo.
“For me, that starts with helping more people understand what our doctors do and the difference they make, so they can truly appreciate the service and feel able to support it. Their work saves lives, bringing advanced medical interventions to patients when every second matters and delivering hospital-level care at the scene.
“Having a Beep Doctor in attendance is sometimes the difference between life and death.
“The ten Beep Doctors are a group of highly-skilled, experienced doctors who give up their own time, completely unpaid, to respond to life-threatening emergencies across the whole of Cumbria. They’ll leave their families, often after already working long shifts, because someone out there needs urgent help.
“However, despite the fact the charity has been operating for more than 30 years, I still meet people, especially in areas like West Cumbria (previously Copeland and Allerdale), where a large number of our callouts take place, who have never even heard of the Beep Doctors.”
She added: “We are approaching summer, which is one of our busiest times of the years because we see an influx of tourists.
“I’d really like to see more people becoming curious about the charity, who we are, where we serve, and what we do. More information can be found on our website www.beepdoctors.co.uk or by getting in touch, and we’re always happy to talk about our work. In fact, that’s another important part of what our doctors do: delivering talks to community groups and raising awareness of first aid and CPR.”
Jo said there were many ways that people could help the charity financially, such as with donations; through its Just Giving page; by holding fund-raising events and leaving legacies in wills. “Businesses could also consider making us their charity of the year in the workplace,” she said.
People can donate via the website, on the Just Giving page or by contacting Jo on 01768 809353 or emailing jo@beepdoctors.co.uk
In little over a year, the Beep Doctors have attended 67 medical emergencies; 70 road traffic incidents; 46 trauma-related Incidents; 22 cardiac arrests; six recreational accidents; six farming incidents; two incidents involving burns; two involving maternity; and they have assisted mountain rescue teams seven times. During that period BEEP Doctors have completed almost 900 volunteering hours, including incidents and training.
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