Cumbrian charity BEEP Doctors wants to raise £250,000 this year to buy new emergency vehicles to help its volunteers respond to accidents across the county.
The BEEP Doctors service was established in Cumbria in 1994 and offers skilled emergency doctors to help at the scenes of accident.
The 16 doctors are all unpaid and are on call 24/7 – even during the COVID-19 pandemic, when many of them have been working in hospitals and the local community.
They provide enhanced medical interventions which are not normally able to be provided by paramedics at the roadside, stabilising critically ill or injured patients long before they reach hospital.
Last year, they smashed their appeal target of £145,000 for vital equipment including defibrillators, ultrasound kit and PPE uniforms.
They now want to raise cash to buy four new emergency vehicles.
In 2021 the team of volunteer doctors who are on call 24/7 were called to 394 incidents – 124 in Carlisle, 84 in Eden, 63 in South Lakes, 61 in Allerdale, 37 in Copeland and four in Barrow in Furness.
They also attended 16 call outs in the Lancaster area and two in Scotland. Three incidents were unrecorded.
Forty nine per cent of last year’s call outs were road traffic accidents, but they were also called out to attacks by cattle, fractures, falls, assaults, stabbings, head injuries, drowning, cardiac arrest or mental health issues.
They helped over 500 casualties.
Last year also saw the donation to the charity of its first emergency vehicle, by Smarter Metering Services with contributions from BASICS National and the HELP Appeal.
The aim in 2022 is raise enough money to buy four new emergency vehicles: with each vehicle costing around £35,000 to £40,000.
The doctors currently use their own vehicles, which is not ideal when responding to emergency calls outs, particularly in rural Cumbria, the charity said.
Having dedicated emergency vehicles stationed in each area of the county would mean greater safety for the volunteer doctors when out on the road.
The vehicles would be fully liveried up, have blues and twos and all the necessary equipment and medicine on board – ensuring the best possible care for patients. They are also looking to buy several ventilators and other high tech medical equipment, ensuring they bring the A&E to the patient.
To find out more about BEEP Doctors, make a donation or to get a fundraising pack, visit www.beepdoctors.co.uk
