Generous funding by Sellafield Ltd means a team of volunteer doctors is now even better equipped to save lives in Cumbria.

BEEP Doctors (BASICS) Cumbria was able to buy two new 4×4 emergency response vehicles – a S60 estate and a XC60 SUV – for use in west Cumbria made possible with £91,694 of funding from the Sellafield Ltd SIX – social impact, multiplied programme in October last year.

Now the company has given the charity a further £61,690 to pay for new equipment for the two vehicles, which are used in Allerdale and Copeland.

The donation has paid for two Hamilton ventilators; two Lucas chest compression devices and two Schiller Defigard Touch 7 monitors.

The ventilators breathe for a patient once the BEEP doctors have put them into an anaesthetic/medically induced coma.

The chest compression devices do chest compressions instead of humans doing it when a person’s heart has stopped during a cardiac arrest. As well as providing better chest compressions, it frees up another pair of hands to work on the patient in other ways.

The monitors have a wide range of functions, including monitoring blood pressure every three minutes, continual blood oxygen level monitoring and monitoring the heart rate and the expired air concentration of carbon dioxide. Another role is defibrillating or shocking the heart once it has stopped during a cardiac arrest. They can also do diagnostic ECGs to detect heart attacks and can provide external pacing or rhythmical electrical stimulation when the electrical activity of the heart has gone awry. 

Chair of BEEP Doctors Cumbria Dr Theo Weston said: ‘On behalf of the Beep Doctors and our entire team, I extend a huge thank you to Sellafield Ltd for their incredible generosity. Their support has not only touched us, but will also touch the lives of many individuals in west Cumbria.

“With their contribution, we have been able to purchase this essential equipment that will undoubtedly enhance our services and ultimately save lives and we are deeply grateful for their ongoing commitment to the community and our mission.”

Cumbria’s BEEP Doctors provide enhanced pre-hospital emergency care. They work closely with the police and fire services, North West Ambulance Service, Great North Air Ambulance Service and North West Air Ambulance.

At incidents BEEP Doctors can carry out some surgical procedures, such as inserting chest drains; some can perform pre-hospital anaesthetics; and all are able to administer drugs that most road crew paramedics cannot, such as ketamine/fentanyl to give pain relief and allow fracture manipulation.

Many of the emergencies they attend are road traffic collisions, as well as incidents involving farms, pushbikes, horses and water.

So far in 2023 the BEEP Doctors (BASICS) Cumbria charity has attended 214 incidents and members have completed 747 volunteering hours.

BEEP Doctors are looking to work with other businesses in the county who would be willing to support the service.

To find out more about BEEP Doctors and to make a donation, go to www.beepdoctors.co.uk