VOLUNTEERS are needed to rush to help people living near them in a medical emergency.
West Yorkshire Ambulance Service runs a community first responder scheme, in which volunteers are on call to help people before ambulances arrive.
They carry defibrillators to re-start patients' hearts if they have had a cardiac arrest.
In such cases seconds can be vital, as without defibrillation a person's chance of survival decreases by 10% every minute that goes by.
The volunteers will be trained in a wide range of potentially life-threatening conditions, regularly updated with refresher courses.
The ambulance service has run the scheme since April, 2004. Community first responders have gone to more than 1,000 callouts, starting treatment before the ambulance arrived in almost 800 of them.
The service's network response manager, Paul Stevens, said: "A group of community-based volunteers is on hand to provide life-saving treatment in the first few moments after a heart attack.
"Immediate defibrillation can dramatically increase a patient's chance of survival."
The service already has more than 200 volunteers.
But it needs more, especially in Holmfirth, Skelmanthorpe, Shelley, Meltham, Marsden, Clayton West, Highburton, Kirkburton, Fixby and Elland.
The scheme is part of the National Defibrillator Programme. This aims to increase the number of people trained in life-saving skills in communities in England.
It is led by the Government's Health Department, in conjunction with the British Heart Foundation charity.
Anyone interested in joining the scheme should phone 01924 582000 or 07768 301 750.
n lifesaver Paul Stevens, West Yorkshire Ambulance Service network response manager, with a defibrillator
