CANVEY First Responders have been awarded for their tremendous contributions to the community.

Kevin Brown, head of operations from the East of England Ambulance Service, presented Canvey Island First Responders with a certificate of merit for their exceptional voluntary services.

The certificate was accepted by Mick Allwood, co-ordinator for the Canvey First Responders, on behalf of the volunteers. Members of the Canvey First Responders also attended the ceremony, which took place on November 7 at the Quy Mill Hotel & Spa, Cambridge.

Mr Allwood said: “A couple of weeks ago I got the call to say we’d been nominated for the award. It’s lovely to be recognised, as a group of volunteers.

“We don’t get paid for what we do so this is the reward for us, it gives the responders something back. It’s an incredible achievement for our team.

“The awards ceremony was a lovely evening and there were many great achievements for lots of groups at the event. It was an honour to be amongst them all. We all really enjoyed the evening.”

The Canvey First Responders have provided eight public access defibrillators to the community so far, and work with the Canvey Dementia Community Support Team. They also provide free courses to teach the public how to use heart starting defibrillators in case of an emergency. Mick said: “I think we won the award because we’re a real asset to the trust, they’ve recognised us for our contribution to the community. Any excess funds we raise goes straight back into the community.”

There has been a significant increase in the number of call outs that the first responders attend. The Canvey First Responders will be called to urgent and life threatening incidents.

The group have received specialist training to prepare and helped more than a thousand patients last year.

Mick said: “Call outs have increased even more in comparison to last year.

“We entered a new programme last October, which teaches us how the trust typically respond to calls, in relation to things like waiting times, what response to send, stuff like that. We’re still in our teething stages but learning this helps.”

The Canvey First Responders are preparing for the busiest time of year, working on average 300 hours a month.

Mick added: “Last Sunday we treated 11 patients, which is very unusual. It’s definitely busy because of the winter pressures, Christmas Day the last few years has been extremely busy. We are preparing by taking part in training sessions where we practice skills such as CPR, which are attended by frontline staff employed by the trust.

“We have to be prepared for anything that could catch us out.”

Mick explained: “I joined the group as I was inspired by my mother and father who passed away, they pushed for this volunteering. What a way to pay them back.

“It can be very testing and challenging, but it is rewarding to receive appreciation and recognition, it really gives the group a boost.”