Oct2013_DAVID NAYLOR – STAR CARE WINNER 2013
In September, local First Responder, David Naylor, received the Commissioner’s 2013 STAR CARE Award for Excellence. This was presented in a ceremony in September this year, during Ambulance Week.
It was quite an honour to be chosen from the state-wide list of nominees and Dave was both surprised and impressed to have received this award.
Dave is a member of the Assistant Commissioner, Gavin Trembath’s First Responder Reference group for Dayboro which has representatives from all Metro North Local Ambulance Service Network (LASN) First Responder Groups (FRG), which enhances and aligns the FRG skills/training through the Medical Directors Office.
Dave has been a member of the FRG for 6 years, since its inception in Dayboro.
Our First Responders are a special group of people. They receive advanced first aid training and also attend regular training sessions, including mock emergency scenarios, so that they are in a position to offer the best possible assistance when they are called out.
First Responders are on a roster which commits them to being available during what is their off-duty hours from their paid jobs – Yes these guys are volunteers!
We have only 2 paid staff at the Dayboro Ambulance Station, and there are only short time-frames during which they are both on together – because this is a 24/7 on-call operation, not 9 – 5.
The First Responder teams are ready to quickly attend an incident if the Dayboro vehicle is out – e.g. already transporting a patient to hospital – and they carry a kit of equipment with them to attend to matters until a back-up ambulance vehicle with paramedics arrives, possibly coming from another area.
Dayboro’s dedicated First Responders also regularly tag along with the on-duty officer, providing assistance as well as gaining valuable experience.
(Contact our local ambulance staff, Peter Fletcher or Chresten Reville, if you are interested in joining this dedicated group of volunteers. Phone 3425 1215.)
