Energia wind farm funding supports Termon Community responders

21 May 2021

Termon Community Responders a team of 22 that is set up to support vulnerable individuals until the ambulance service arrives. Received £4,800 of funding from Energia, Tyrone three windfarm to purchase Automatic External Defibrillators. With the help of this funding the community in Beragh now has a new Defibrillator for public access.

First responders are exactly what their name suggests. They are a team of people in a local area, on-call with a target response time of eight minutes in a crisis.  “When the Northern Ireland Ambulance service receives an emergency 999 call, we are alerted by text message we can be on the scene in minutes” explains Paul Tallen, Coordinator of the Team.

“A vital service, especially for people with cardiac problems where rapid intervention with C P R and use of a Defibrillator can increase the chance of survival.  We are trained by N.I.A.S. and our role is to assist when a medical emergency arises until the ambulance arrives.”

Each on-call First Responder has a defibrillator with their emergency kit bag, providing a potentially life-saving contribution in an emergency cardiac situation.

This new defibrillator will make a huge difference in this rural community and we want to thank Energia for this support” he added

The responders hope that in the future they can expand this life-saving service and grow their Community Response team to further neighbouring rural areas. Some members of their team have also been trained in basic life support skills.

Orla Black, Community Foundation NI, “A unique and invaluable service provided for this rural area by local individuals. A true example of how communities can work together to create impact, in this case potentially saving someone’s life. We could not have funded a more well-deserving project, thank you to our partners, Energia Energy but most of all the Community Responders volunteers who are out on the ground saving lives!.”