Pride of Guernsey: Herm community first responders
THE Herm community first responders have been nominated for the Emergency Hero of the Year award, sponsored by MSG.
‘They are the first line of care for anyone on Herm,’ said their nominator Tim Slann, who is a volunteer on the Flying Christine.
‘Mark Latter has been a qualified community first responder in Herm for the last 12 years and is supported by additional qualified CFRs – Sean McDonald and Fiona Hastings. Between them, these dedicated and highly trained CFRs provide vital first aid and medical support for both residents and visitors to
Herm, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and 365 days a year.
‘Over the years they have dealt with minor injuries requiring no hospital care, to heart attacks, to attempted suicides, broken hips and serious medical conditions such as gall stones.
‘They are also required to deal with mental health issues, so with Fiona Hastings having also been trained as a
mental health first-aider, she brings vital skills to the team.
‘The team has also often been required to think on their feet to extract patients safely from challenging situations with the minimum of discomfort – this has included driving patients very slowly the long way round to the harbour to avoid potholes, to wading out on Shell Beach carrying a patient on a stretcher to the inshore lifeboat for transfer to the Flying Christine.
‘Without this dedicated team of people, I am sure lives would have been lost.’
