Ireland’s leading emergency medical charity is encouraging workplaces, community groups and individuals to sign up to a 41-day fitness challenge as the charity continues to expand its services to additional locations.
CRITICAL charity has a growing network of more than 200 volunteer responders active in 21 counties who have responded to almost 1,000 medical and trauma incidents including 187 cardiac arrests since the start of this year.
The network includes Emergency Doctors in locations such as Cork, Kerry, Waterford, Donegal, Dublin and Wicklow; Community First Responder Groups; and off-duty paramedics, EMTs, Advanced Paramedics.
‘Ready, Set, Respond’ begins on Saturday the 6th of September, which is National Services Day, and runs until Thursday the 16th of October, which is Restart a Heart Day. Teams are set a collective goal of reaching 1,308km, the total number of emergency calls CRITICAL volunteers responded to in 2024. Participants can run, walk, cycle or even swim to reach the target.
The funds raised will be used to expand the service to new locations. It costs an average of €150,000 to put a new, fully-stocked Critical Care response vehicle on the road, while it costs up to €15,000 to set up a new CFR group. Life support bags which contain a defibrillator, a resuscitation kit and a medical diagnostic kit cost €1,500 each.
David Tighe, CEO of CRITICAL said, “We know that every second counts in an emergency situation which is why we’re committed to expanding our network of volunteer responders to even more locations across the country. We have seen a massive increase in call-outs this year and it is fitting that this challenge starts on National Services Day, a day when we celebrate frontline workers and the emergency services. Our volunteers are often first on the scene, providing vital care when it’s needed most. We have an amazing mix of healthcare professionals and local heroes from unrelated fields who completed specialised training. We now have 9 Community First Responder Groups and two new groups that are about to go live. They have responded to hundreds of cardiac arrests in recent years which is why we’ve chosen Restart A Heart Day as the final day of the challenge.”
Jeppe Rasmussen, Head of Fundraising with CRITICAL added, “We hope workplaces, communities, clubs and our Community First Responder groups will take part in this unique challenge. The goal is to reach 1,308km in whatever way participants want. This number represents the hundreds of people who received help from CRITICAL volunteers when they needed it most. Our volunteers are responding to more calls than ever and it is all thanks to public donations and community fundraisers. Every contribution helps us to continue this vital lifesaving work.”
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