SCAS Charity volunteer community first responder, James Clarke, was awarded ‘Highly Commended’ in the volunteer category at the BBC Radio Oxford Make a Difference Awards, held on Wednesday, 11 September, at the Kassam Stadium in Oxford.
James is the managing director at Hook Norton Brewery and regularly logs on to make himself available to respond to any nearby emergencies when he is at work, as well as from his home in Oxfordshire.
All community first responders are trained by South Central Ambulance Service and are equipped with a defibrillator and a medical response bag. When logged on with the ambulance service as available to respond, they may be despatched to a nearby serious medical emergency and be able to provide initial emergency first aid treatment whilst an ambulance response is on its way.
James said: “In terms of reward, it’s one of those things you just feel you’re perhaps making a bit of a difference. There are hundreds of us across the whole country so we must be making a difference.”