A team of dedicated volunteer doctors which carries out life-saving work in Cumbria has been able to buy a third emergency response vehicle thanks to a donation of £25,000.
BEEP Doctors (BASICS) Cumbria successfully bid for the money from a grant of £250,000, which is given to the British Association for Immediate Care every year by the County Air Ambulance HELP Appeal – the only charity in the country dedicated to funding NHS hospital helipads.
“This is an absolutely amazing donation, which has allowed us to buy outright an emergency response vehicle, based in the south of the county, which we had previously only leased,” said Dr Chris Moss, an active responder with BEEP Doctors Cumbria and the trustee responsible for its fund-raising and grant applications.
He said some BEEP Doctors used their own personal cars to reach incidents. These had covert blue lights but people would not know they were emergency vehicles until the lights were switched on.
In contrast, the new car – a Volvo XC60 SUV – bought as a result of the donation is fully marked as an emergency response vehicle, has blues and twos and is branded with the BEEP Doctors’ and HELP Appeal logos.
Potentially this meant BEEP doctors could reach patients quicker because the vehicle was more visible to other drivers so could make swifter progress.
“Our three marked vehicles can also be used at the roadside for defensive parking which boosts the safety of clinicians and patients,” said Dr Moss.
Cumbria’s 12 BEEP Doctors provide enhanced pre-hospital emergency care. They work closely with the police and fire services, North West Ambulance Service, 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.
Many of the emergencies they attend are road traffic collisions, as well as incidents involving farms, pushbikes, horses and water.
BEEP Doctors Cumbria is one of a national network of more than 30 regional schemes across the UK, which operates under the umbrella of the British Association for Immediate Care.
It costs more than £150,000 a year to keep BEEP Doctors Cumbria going and the charity relies on donations and fundraising events.
“Large donations like this are fantastic for us because you would never be able to raise £25,000 swiftly by shaking buckets in supermarkets,” said Dr Moss.
“That said, small regular funding is also very important to us and we very much value all donations from the community, particularly at a time when the cost of living is hurting us all.
“We are very grateful for all donations received, whether that be from a school whose pupils have held a cupcake sale, from legacies or from donations from businesses.
“Next year will be the 30th anniversary of BEEP Doctors Cumbria and we shall be having an extra push on fundraising activities.”
So far in 2023 the BEEP Doctors (BASICS) Cumbria charity has attended 247 incidents and members have completed 850 volunteering hours.
