Partnership project launched to support communities with life-saving skills

Funding from the Yorkshire Ambulance Service Charity (YAS Charity) will support targeted work to address health inequalities in two communities in Yorkshire – Manningham in Bradford and Goldthorpe in Barnsley. The newly launched project will work alongside local communities to provide life-saving skills training, build community capacity and strengthen connections with Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS).

The funding, awarded by NHS Charities Together, is aimed at supporting and working with communities to improve health outcomes, through teaching first aid, CPR and defibrillator-use training, as well as increasing understanding and awareness of the services provided by the Trust and employment and volunteer opportunities available. The project will combine the teaching of life-saving skills, such as CPR, with information and advice that aims to prevent ill health for people in the future.

And as the project officer delivering these programmes, Ripaljeet Kaur, said:
“I’m really excited to be working with communities in Manningham and Goldthorpe. These areas have been chosen because of population health needs, significant health inequalities and high ambulance demand.

“This project builds on existing Yorkshire Ambulance Service initiatives such as Restart a Heart, but goes further by working alongside communities, listening to what matters to them and learning from patient experiences. Capturing patient stories will help us understand what works well, where services can improve, and how we can shape support around local needs.

“We want to equip people with life-saving skills and give them the confidence to train others, so knowledge and support can continue within the community. We also want to raise awareness of employment and volunteering opportunities with Yorkshire Ambulance Service, encouraging more people from Manningham and Goldthorpe to volunteer, work with us and see a place for themselves in the ambulance service.”

Head of YAS Charity, Carey Taylor, said: “At YAS Charity, we are delighted to be able to support this project and enable close working with communities in Manningham and Goldthorpe.  The Charity’s aim is to engage with communities and to save lives, which this project helps us to achieve.  As well as equipping people with skills, we hope that this project will make these skills accessible to all, leaving a lasting impact within these communities and creating lasting partnerships. We are also proud to be combining our core life-saving skills training with more preventative, public-health-related interventions.”

Funding from the YAS Charity has supported the appointment of the Community Engagement and Resilience Officer for a two-year period, who will be working in partnership to increase awareness of life-saving skills and YAS services, developing resources within communities (such as defibrillators) that will be beneficial for future years beyond the project and increasing community resilience and capacity.

Senior Community Engagement Manager, Lewis Etoria, added: “Through this funding, we aspire to bring about lasting change.  By analysing population data and ambulance service demand, we are also identifying areas where we can build better, more trusted relationships and create opportunities and improved outcomes for individuals through first aid training, ill health prevention and volunteering and employment opportunities with our service.

“We are working with communities that we have not engaged with before, despite demand for our service in these areas being high and health outcomes being among the worst in our region. By developing links into these areas, we hope to change this to the benefit of all.”

The YAS Charity is one of 14 NHS charities in the UK to receive funding from NHS Charities Together through its £1.94m Community Resilience Grants Fund.

Programme Lead at NHS Charities Together, Claire Stonier, commented: “We were delighted to award this grant to the YAS Charity as part of our Community Resilience Grants Fund. The project has the potential to make a huge difference to people living in Yorkshire.”  

The Yorkshire Ambulance Service Charity (YAS Charity) was awarded the Community Resilience Grants Fund from NHS Charities Together, in partnership with Omaze. 

The funded initiatives focus particularly on communities who are at even higher risk in an emergency because of healthcare inequalities, for example minority ethnic groups, urban, rural and coastal communities and those experiencing poverty.

Currently, only one in 10 people who suffer a cardiac arrest outside of a hospital will return home to their families – but rapid action through early identification, calling for help, CPR and defibrillation can help improve survival rates. For example, timely access to defibrillation can increase the chance of survival to more than 50%.

Community organisations and those involved in groups in Manningham and Goldthorpe are encouraged to get in touch with Yorkshire Ambulance Service to explore opportunities in this project and can reach the team via yas.communityengagement@nhs.net.