Cycle support for shoppers

A team of cycling first aiders are helping keep Nottingham City shoppers safe this Christmas. During the busy lead up to Christmas support is being provided to people requiring emergency first aid while shopping, skating or walking around the crowded city streets.

Working with the East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS), trained members of St John Ambulance Nottinghamshire's cycle response team are on hand to offer emergency first aid to shoppers who need their help in the crowded city centre this December.

Greater mobility means faster response

The mobility and ease with which they can move through traffic and areas too slim for ambulances to pass, means they are a vital component to the first aid service St John Ambulance provides.

'Our Cycle Responders enable us to reach patients quicker particularly at events where ambulance movement is restricted because of the density of the crowds or the nature of the event. Having the cycle responders available means that patients can get advanced treatment quickly that could be the difference between a life lost and a life saved,' said Peter Ralph, Cycle Responder Coordinator for Nottinghamshire St John Ambulance.

Members of the team have been helping across Nottingham city centre at weekends since 11 December. They will continue to do so during the Christmas shopping period on their purpose designed bicycles. They are expected to be out again on Thursday 23 December and Christmas Eve.

Always on hand

This is the third year operating cycle responders have been placed in Nottingham City Centre during the Christmas period. With 20 volunteer cycle first aiders, the Nottinghamshire Cycle Responder Unit is one of the largest county teams in the country and the third largest fleet of cycles.

Members of the St John Ambulance Nottinghamshire cycle response unit attend a number of major public events in Nottinghamshire throughout the year, including Caribbean carnival, Riverside Festival and The Pride festival. At this year's Nottingham Marathon the they resuscitated competitor Richard Stokes who collapsed 11 miles into the race and subsequently stopped breathing.

Ready to respond

Nottinghamshire's cycle response team are ready to respond in all conditions and in all circumstances.

'We proved to be quite busy the first weekend we were out and the closer we get to Christmas the busier it is likely to get. Our first aiders are pleased to be the difference for shoppers in and around Nottingham city centre each year, and at a variety of other events throughout the year. They’re ready to respond in all weathers, at all occasions, so everyone can enjoy themselves at events safe in the knowledge that first aid assistance is at hand,' said Ralph.