FIRST aiders are struggling to find patient’s homes in an emergency due to their house number not being visible.
Henley Community First Responders said precious time was wasted when they were searching for an address but could find it due to lack of an obvious name or number.
First responder Sue Osbourne told the Observer: “We haven’t had any fatalities because of this but it can be a nightmare, the lack of housing name or number is always a problem. We have always managed to get there but sometimes we do waste a bit of time.
“A classic problem is when everyone puts their wheelie bins out and they obscure the number. Sometimes we have to go knocking on people’s doors until someone can tell us where the house is.”
The team – staffed entirely by volunteers and using a small ambulance – is called out when they are closer to the scene than paramedics.
And the responders have also said the lack of information given when calling from a public place was an issue.
Sue added: “It’s not just our homes that need to be clearly identifiable, places of work and public buildings need to be clearly signed too. If you need to call the emergency services from a public place, a postcode is the best information you can give the operator. We are urging all public access buildings to display their postcodes in a prominent position, ideally in the foyer or by the front door.”
Call Sue on 01564 794299 or email [email protected] to find out more.
