A Ramsey man is to head up a 20-strong team of life-savers. Gerry Jones, 58, of Close-ny-Mooragh, has been appointed by St John Ambulance Isle of Man to be Co-ordinator of its teams of Community First Responders (CFRs), taking over from Val and Graham Platt. CFRs are recruited and trained in life-saving by St John Ambulance, the Island’s leading first aid charity, and are despatched by the Isle of Man Ambulance and Paramedic Service to tend to those awaiting ambulances in rural areas, undertaking first aid techniques such as CPR and applying defibrillation in the case of cardiac arrest, giving oxygen to those with breathing difficulties, offering reassurance, gathering information that will be of assistance to paramedics when they arrive and potentially saving lives. CFR schemes operate in the north, west and south of the Island and there are 20 fully trained volunteers, with more undergoing training. Mr Jones has been involved with St John Ambulance for nearly five years. He was one of the original members of the Ramsey Division and, when the First Responder Unit started in Ramsey in October 2007, he became Ramsey co-coordinator. ‘I’m looking forward to the challenge of this new role as I get to work as part of St John Ambulance’s great team of Community First Responders in partnership with the Island’s NHS Ambulance Service. We get the opportunity to help to genuinely make a difference to people’s quality of life,’ said Mr Jones, whose day job is that of operations manager at Doxbond (Isle of Man) Ltd. Dr Iain Kewley, Commander of St John Ambulance Isle of Man, said: ‘CFRs are an important part of St John Ambulance's commitment to making the Isle of Man a safer place. We are delighted that Gerry has accepted this challenging role and we hope to continue to expand the existing service. The CFR scheme really does make the difference between lives lost and lives saved.’ Anyone interested in training to be a Community First Responder should contact Steve Crowe at steven.crowe@gov.im or leave their details with St John Ambulance on 01624 674387. Initial training takes place over two weekends, interspersed with practical familiarisation training working with paramedics and other emergency crews to give volunteers the confidence to put their newly acquired knowledge and skills into practice. All equipment is provided. The next course starts on 30 April 2011. -ENDS-