‘A fantastic asset’: After years of work, Uist First Responders begins saving lives

Paramedic Claire Bagley says people from across Uist came together to help the islands get their own emergency first responders group.

By Eve McLachlan

February 17 2024, 6:00 am

Uist First Responders celebrate becoming officially established. Photo supplied by: Scottish Ambulance Service

The Uist First Responders were officially welcomed into service by the Scottish Ambulance Service this week.

It is a team that’s been years in the making.

The chief executive of the Scottish Ambulance Service has said that he is “delighted” by the establishment of Uist First Responders, a new first responders group in the Western Isles island community.

“Our Community First Responders play a vital role in their communities, starting treatment while an ambulance is on route as every second counts,” Michael Dickson said.

They’re especially vital in rural areas like the Western Isles, says local paramedic Claire Bagley.

“There are two ambulances in Uist, and they could be on the other side of the island when another emergency comes in,” she says.

Add in Uist’s wild weather, which can make travel difficult, and it’s clear how important the Uist First Responders are.

“The group really is a fantastic asset,” she says.

‘We have spent the last four or five years trying to make this happen’

Getting the group up and running has been its own challenge.

“There was a previous unit in Uist – the North Uist first responders – from 2008 to 2016,” Ms Bagley says. “Then unfortunately numbers dropped and we struggled to get someone over [from off-island] for training.

“We have probably spent the last four or five years trying to make this happen again,” she says.

Problems caused by Covid, as well as the practical difficulties of bringing trainers over, made things difficult. But the community didn’t give up.

“We had a high number of people who wanted to volunteer,” Ms Bagley says.

Eventually, “two trainers were able to come over last September to do four full days of training over two weekends.”

‘Amazing response from the community’

The volunteers came to the training will very different levels of experience.

“Some of the volunteers had never done first aid before, some had done first aid as a part of work, two were old responders from the North Uist group and we have an ex-nurse too, as well as a ambulance technician.”

But all of them will help save lives.

Their training means they can operate an automated external defibrillator (AED), perform CPR, and use the FAST test to quickly diagnose a stroke, all in the vital minutes before an ambulance can arrive.

The volunteers can also “take observations like respiratory rate, pulse rate, blood pressure and temperature”, Ms Bagley says.

But it wasn’t just the volunteers themselves that have made Uist First Responders a reality.

“Local businesses from across Uist came together to help to fund the CFR kit bags, which include an AED,” says Ms Bagley. “We’ve also had an amazing response from the community who have also been fundraising.”