Newark Community First Aid hold annual general meeting after record breaking year, and continue to seek more volunteers

More volunteers are being sought by community first aiders after a record breaking year.

Newark Community First Aid’s annual meeting was held on Monday, November 27, at Newark Academy, opened by the chairman of the trustees, Dr Margaret McDougald, who welcomed fellow trustees and volunteers.

In the year ending June 30, the charity’s first aid cover increased by 29% to 346 events, including the large-scale Focus Religious Festival, English Schools Cross Country Championships, Nottinghamshire County Show and National Ploughing Championships, which resulted in the largest number of patients treated by the charity in one year.

Operations manager Philip Jessop gave a full report on the charity’s activities.

He reported that in many areas it had been a record breaking year for the charity but, like most volunteer organisations, there was an ongoing problem with recruiting more volunteers.

Existing volunteers continued to develop their training, with additional courses run on advanced first aid, first response emergency care, and mental health first aid.

Philip said: “Unlike many first aid organisations our members have the opportunity to train weekly, which helps maintain their skill levels and develop team work. Last year the number of hours members gave to training increased by 45%.”

Overall, volunteers gave over 20,000 hours of service to the community — and the charity is seeking more to join them.

Dr McDougald said: “I am sure there are many people in Newark and surrounding villages who could gain a great deal from joining us as a volunteer and helping us support the community.

“We know that nationally the number of people volunteering is at its lowest level ever and we are not immune from this, if we do not have the volunteers we cannot provide our services to all those who request our help.”

To find out more about becoming a volunteer, email newarkcommunityfirstaiders@hotmail.com or call 07973904808.

Philip also reported that free community training courses provided to community groups, schools, youth groups and charities were now headed back to pre-covid levels with a 73% increase in candidates on the previous year, and candidates attending the charity’s workplace training courses had increased for the fourth year in a row.

The first aid centre opened at Newark Showground in May 2022 had also proved an “exceptional asset”, and the charity invested in upgrading its vehicle fleet and expanded the amount of equipment held in case of major incidents.

Treasurer Paul Hudson reported on a good financial year with income rising from training and events helping to support development of the organisation, and the meeting also recognised the tremendous work done over many years by some of its founding members who have now retired from operational work — Jean Bennet, Chris Paknoham, Anne Vooght and Dr Peter Crookes.