Hi. My name is Mark Atkinson and I am a Community First Responder. I joined the Eastleigh CFR group in January 2018 because I wanted to make a difference to people‘s lives. As a First Responder I go ‘on call’ and, if there is a medical emergency within the local area ie Eastleigh, Bishopstoke, Chandlers Ford, Fair Oak and there is no ambulance crew available, I may be called upon to go to a patient to give life saving treatment until the crew arrive. In the time I have been doing this role I have attended more than fifty calls inculding cardiac arrests, babies and children with breathing difficulties, heavy bleeds, strokes, chest pains, falls, adults with breathing problems and heart attacks. I do this role in my own time, at nights and weekends, and I operate from home using my own car. This is a a purely voluntary role that sits alongside my normal day job.

So far I have been sharing a kit with another First Responder. I need my own kit (bag, bandages, masks, tubes for keeping airways open, oxygen) and defibrillator as these really can make a difference to keeping somebody alive and means I would be able to go on call more frequently and for longer. This would also mean more CFR’s can log on at any given time, meaning more availablity for patients in need.

The funds raised would pay for the whole kit, defibrillator, telephone and obs pouch so that I can give the crew additional infomation such as temperature, pulse, blood sugar levels, oxygen levels and blood pressure on their arrival saving precious seconds.

I cannot tell you how much this cause means to me personally and what a difference this can make to the community as a whole.