Trainer

The Parish Council arranged free training on the use of the AED now installed on the Village Hall wall.

We know that many villagers have attended such training at work but now we have a further dozen with potentially life saving knowledge. All agreed that they had learnt a lot from their session.

Some villagers did ask how AED awareness training could take two hours.

Well, the trainer did covered a lot of ground: recognising a heart attack as opposed to cardiac arrest; applying CPR; the use of the AED; and, placing the patient in the recovery position. With questions and discussion our session took just over two hours – time well spent.

CPR Dummies

CPR Dummies

Dummies were available to practice CPR – if you need a reminder see Vinnie Jones on the BHF page.

Discussion in progress

Discussion in progress

Examining the AED

Examining the AED


We are arranging training, which is open to all parishioners, in the use of our defibrillator now fixed to the Village Hall wall. We have two dates in mind, both at the Village Hall:

  • Thursday 15th June from 6.30pm.
  • 17th June from 10 am.

Each session will last for 2 hours and is guided by an experienced trainer from the Community Heartbeat Trust.

To help us plan each session, please do let the Clerk know (clerk.wpc@gmail.com or 01508 570700) that you will attend one of the sessions. We will provide more information as it becomes available.


The Ambulance Service have now added the Wreningham Village Hall defibrillator to their database. This means our defibrillator is live for use. Should it be needed then they will be able to provide the access code.

The Parish Council is planning two training sessions open to all villagers to prepare them in the use of the defibrillator and assisting patients. More on this later.


A new Community First Responder (CFR) volunteers group has contacted us to explain what they do and why, and to invite support.

The local Mulbarton-based CFR works with, and is despatched by, the 999 ambulance service to provide immediate life saving support to patients in the event of a medical emergency. They provide support to all villages and parishes up to 15 minutes away, although there is no limit to who they serve dependant on availability of other CFR groups. CFR groups exist across the UK but this is a new group serving our district/parish. Previously the closest bases were in Aslacton and Poringland. They are a group of volunteers who provide this service in their free time, and receive no money for what they do.

http://www.respondersuk.org/norfolk/index.php will give more information about what they do, but in essence, if you call 999 suffering from life threatening signs/symptoms (Cardiac Arrest, Stroke, breathing difficulties, etc.) it is likely that they will be called to attend in addition to the ambulance. They use their own transport, at their expense. They have the training and the equipment to stabilise you with the use of a defibrillator, oxygen and other kit. We then provide a full handover to the ambulance crew if first on scene.

An ambulance may well be 15/20 minutes away when you call 999, which is why having a CFR, on-call nearby who can reach patients faster is essential. Those first few minutes could be the difference in saving a life.

This volunteer service crosses multiple parishes and districts (details below) and have recently recruited 8 new members from different villages from each district. The new volunteers are currently going through training and assessment, and if successful they will be available to go on call in a couple of months. Currently they have one emergency responder “kit”, which they need to share, passing it to whoever is on call at the time. This means that only one responder can be on call at a time.

Ideally with 10 volunteers they need 2 kits which could be in split locations allowing responders to reach patients faster. The total cost to provide a second kit is £3,500, but we are looking for a total sum of £5,000 to include some replacement items for our 1st kit as well.

As a new group Elizabeth Martin (Group Founder) and Graham Bunting had an initial aim to inform the people of your parishes/districts of who they are and how they help in urgent medical 999 cases. However with such great support from the general public already through social media, and now with additional volunteers, they need to switch their focus to funding for an additional ‘full kit’ allowing them to have multiple volunteers “on call” in our area, as well as raising further awareness in the parishes. Elizabeth and Graham are undertaking additional courses which will enable them to teach Basic Life Saving techniques in parishes as required.

They have a justgiving page www.justgiving.com/mulbartoncfr and a ring-fenced bank account where funds can be deposited purely for this CFR group.

They are happy to attend community meetings to explain the service they provide in our area, as well as talking about the additional volunteers coming on board. They will be at the Newton Flotman Fete on Sept 6th if you want to meet them and find out more about what they do.

To contact them:

In August they were “on call” for 120 hrs and were asked to attend to 3 incidents. Luckily, Mulbarton and surrounding villages seem to be very healthy at present.


Priority user registers for residents, held by Anglian Water and UK Power Networks.

Following the water interruption at the end of December in Caistor St Edmund and surrounding areas which affected 5000 households in South Norfolk, I would like to make you aware of the priority user registers for residents, held by Anglian Water and UK Power Networks.

Once registered, during a prolonged incident, regular contact is made by Anglian Water or UK Power Networks, keeping customers informed and providing assistance if required. At Caistor St Edmund, bottled water was delivered to individual households. This latter event was, of course, unusual but nevertheless we have taken the opportunity to support the efforts by utility companies to ensure they have up to date information if events occur in future. In the first instance please keep an eye on their websites during any incident.

We are aware that several of the affected parishes are in the process of compiling a joint community emergency plan which was referred to for information and points of contact.

If you know of anyone in your community that meets the criteria (see details below) to be registered, then please follow the links, you can register on line or print the forms to fill in and post.

We are also looking at new ways to reach more vulnerable residents with the utility providers – perhaps you could help us by contacting local groups or putting leaflets in community centres/villages halls/churches, wherever you think it would be most useful?

Anglian Water – vulnerable customers

http://www.anglianwater.co.uk/household/special-assistance/watercare/

WaterCare is available to a wide range of customers, from nursing mothers with children under the age of one to kidney dialysis patients who have a dialysis machine at home; customers who have sight or hearing difficulties to those who are frail and elderly or classed as disabled.

Power – vulnerable customers

http://www.ukpowernetworks.co.uk/internet/en/power-cuts/priority-services-during-a-power-cut/

By joining the register, you will receive:

  • A priority phone number that you can call 24 hours a day
  • A welcome pack with useful advice about preparing for a power cut
  • Regular text message or phone updates during a power cut
  • Extra support from the British Red Cross

Who can apply

  • Customers who are dependent on medical equipment
  • Customers who are chronically ill
  • Customers with a disability
  • Customers who are visually impaired or blind
  • Customers who are hearing impaired or deaf
  • Elderly customers
  • A nursing or residential home
  • Customers with young babies in household
  • Any other case that you would like us to consider

Gas – vulnerable customers

Unfortunately there is not one point of contact for a similar register if you have a piped Gas supply.

Cringleford was affected by a loss of gas supply last week, The National Grid have a large emergency team that visit each household but rely on individual suppliers to maintain a register of vulnerable people for use during such incidents. It is understood that British Gas has a priority services register but with so many suppliers, contact would have to be made directly to your supplier. In the case of Cringleford they have a Community Emergency Plan which was used for additional information that the National Grid did not hold. This reinforces the value of community plans.


The EDP recently carried an article about UK Power Networks preparations for the Winter. The article is here. In summary:

  • A new number to call in the event of power failure 0800 316 3105 (free) or at the local call rate from a mobile, 0333 323 2105.
  • A free Priority Services Register for vulnerable customers entitling them to extra help such as updates or home visits or help during a power cut.
  • The Surviving Winter Appeal, led by Norfolk Community Foundation in partnership with Age UK Norfolk, raises money to help those who can’t afford to heat their homes. To request support from the Surviving Winter fund, contact Age UK Norfolk on 01603 787111.
  • Remember that Wreningham Fuel Trust is there to help villagers – contact Christine Minns.

Advice should there be a power cut:

  • Notify UK Power Networks on 0800 316 3105.
  • Have a corded phone available to plug in; cordless phones won’t work without power.
  • Dress warmly in several layers of clothing, stay in one room or even get into bed.
  • Take care if using candles, tea-lights and other naked flames.
  • Switch off electrical equipment, except one light so you know when the power comes back on.
  • Street lights may also be off so take care if you go out.
  • Look out for elderly/vulnerable neighbours.