Press Release - Emergency Services 22.04.2021

Public thank-you for Alderney lifesavers

Alderney's volunteer ambulance service has received a public message of thanks from the States of Alderney for saving the life of a man who suffered two cardiac arrests during transfer to the Princess Elizabeth Hospital in Guernsey.

Boyd Kelly, Chairman of the General Services Committee, said high quality training combined with an efficient emergency system were behind the successful transfer operation.

The Island's ambulance service was taken over by the States of Alderney in January 2020 and combined under the leadership of the Fire and Rescue Service. Ambulance duties are shared by 11 volunteers in addition to the island's paramedic. Two of them are also fire-fighters and two are 'seasonal' volunteers who work or study off-island for part the year.

Mr Kelly told the States of Alderney meeting on April 21: "I have been involved in various ways with the provision of an Ambulance Service in Alderney over the last 12 years and have always been impressed by the willingness of Island residents to devote their spare time to helping others, be they ambulance personnel, fire-fighters, lifeboat personnel or volunteers in non-medical care roles.

"I would like to publicly thank all those medics, firefighters and ambulance personnel who recently through training and system efficiency were able to save the life of a well-known local man who suffered two cardiac arrests whilst in the process of being transferred to The Princess Elizabeth Hospital in Guernsey.

"I report this with the full knowledge and permission of both that patient and his family. On behalf of the States of Alderney I have personally thanked the volunteers but felt it necessary to share the States' thanks to them and all volunteers publicly."

He announced a review that he hoped would result in opportunities for more people to become first-responders and asked the island's employers to encourage their staff to volunteer.

"We have a patient-focused quality care service, which provides an island-wide ambulance service and assists with medevac transfers," he said. "The service also provides a non-emergency Patient Transfer Service upon a clinician's request."