A team of volunteer doctors who attend serious and major incidents in the county have received a £3,200 boost thanks to a grant from The Cumberland.
The BEEP Fund is a registered charity and an integral part of the emergency services responding to road traffic collisions, farming accidents or other life-threatening medical emergencies across Cumbria.
The team of 15 unpaid doctors costs around £30,000 a year to continue its vital lifesaving work, with ongoing costs for continuous doctor training, the updating of protective clothing and medical equipment, and maintaining their emergency vehicles.
The grant from The Cumberland was used to pay for two portable ultrasound devices to support the team in scanning critically injured patients at the roadside to detect collapsed lungs, blood or fluid around the heart and certain types of internal bleeding. This will enable the Doctors to provide extra critical lifesaving interventions long before they reach hospital.
Dr Theo Weston, who founded the BEEP Doctors charity in 1994, said: “Any funding we receive is always greatly appreciated and this donation is particularly timely as we are expanding our service and the level of care we provide to such seriously injured patients.
“The equipment we use at BEEP comes with a significant cost, but it is essential to ensure our doctors on call have the best gear to give our patients a greater chance of survival.”
During 2020, the BEEP team attended a total of 203 emergency callouts across Cumbria, and are on call 24 hours a day to provide enhanced clinical care in medical emergencies. They have recently increased their area of coverage to include the whole of Cumbria and as a result have taken on more doctors. They are on call 24 hours a day and are called out by North West Ambulance Service.
All the doctors have specialist training in enhanced pre-hospital emergency medical care, meaning they can provide an extra level of medical intervention not normally available until a patient reaches hospital, including procedures such as emergency anaesthetics, surgical operations and a much wider use of drugs.
Phillip Ward, Brand & PR Manager at The Cumberland, commented, “We’re pleased to have been able to support the BEEP Fund purchase these key pieces of equipment. Especially after hearing about the vital work the dedicated team of volunteer doctors do to help people in what could be such a scary time in their life.”