New County Commander for Sussex St John Ambulance

 

Sussex St John Ambulance has come under new leadership with the appointment of Paul Dedman as County Commander for the charity.

Most senior voluntary post

Paul, 62, from Upper Beeding, has been the charity's County Director for the last six years and now replaces Dr James Walsh as Commander – the most senior voluntary post in the organisation.

The role involves taking overall responsibility for the county's 2,000 volunteers who provide first aid cover at hundreds of public events across Sussex each year.

Paul will be involved in strategic decision making as the charity rises to meet the pressing challenges ahead, in an increasingly harsh economic climate.

His duties will include making key decisions on financial and legal matters, representing Sussex St John Ambulance at regional and national meetings and supporting volunteers throughout the county.

'I'm looking forward to the challenges of my new role,' he said. 'I know I can rely on the support of all Sussex St John Ambulance volunteers when it comes to achieving our goals.

'Our main mission is to ensure that no one dies unnecessarily because they needed first aid and didn't get it. Time and again our volunteers prove that their first aid skills are the difference between lives lost and lives saved.'

Coping with life or death situations

The charity is committed to ensuring as many people as possible, including children and young people, are trained in first aid so they can be the difference when confronted with a medical emergency.

Paul has put his own first aid skills into practice on many occasions including two life or death situations in which he administered mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation). One incident involved a linesman who plunged from the top of an electricity tower and on another occasion he gave emergency resuscitation to a female motorcycle passenger who was hit by a bus.

Paul first became involved with Sussex St John Ambulance in 1986 when his local Steyning division appealed for help with covering the cost of uniforms for a new Cadet unit.

He became president of Steyning Division in 1995 and County Vice President in August 2000.

He was appointed County Director in 2005, taking responsibility for all the charity's commercial activities including first aid training for local businesses and the Patient Transport Service which supports the NHS.

Paul is retired after spending 41 years as senior engineering manager for an electricity distribution company.

He and his wife Daphne have been married for 41 years. The couple have two grown up children and two granddaughters.