Council supports county’s life-savers

South Kesteven District Council has continued to support the Lincolnshire Integrated Volunteer Emergency Service (LIVES) – this year celebrating 50 years of saving lives in Lincolnshire.

Life-saving defibrillators have gone to the charity’s volunteer emergency first responders in the Deepings area thanks to a £4,896 grant from SKDC’s Community Fund.

The Defibs for Deepings project replaced outdated equipment for treating cardiac arrests, meaning that the four emergency responders based in the area can now help an estimated two to three medical emergencies every week.

Nikki Cooke, Chief Executive Officer of LIVES, said: “We’re enormously thankful to South Kesteven District Council’s Community Fund for the £4,896 grant towards our defib rollout.

“The money has gone a long way towards helping us equip our volunteer emergency first responders, doctors, paramedics and nurses with a new generation of defibrillators that have the power to transform how we respond to medical emergencies, and train for them.”

In 2021 SKDC’s Community Awards honoured Ella Tapson, a young LIVES community first responder, as a clear winner in the ‘Neil Smith Beyond the Call of

Duty’ award.

Ella, who had trained and volunteered for LIVES since June 2018, responding to hundreds of 999 calls, has now become a fully trained paramedic.

Her award was presented by Candice Smith, whose late husband and SKDC employee Neil, inspired the award after he saved their infant son’s life through administering CPR until medical help arrived –from a LIVES first responder.

11,000

67,177 hours dedicated to saving lives