Emergency responder group being set up in Cavan Town

Efforts are underway to establish a new emergency responder group for the Cavan Town area similar to one already in operation in the Kilcogy area of the county with a demonstration planned for the Market Square tomorrow afternoon, writes Ultan Sherry.
The group, which is to be run on a voluntary basis, will include members who are trained to assist victims of heart attack, stroke and cardiac arrest.
The initiative is being formulated amid problems with the length of time it can take an ambulance to respond to an emergency in Cavan Town, in some cases up to 40 minutes. 
John Monaghan, co-ordinator for the new group in Cavan, says that this move is part of a wider national project. 
“It’s being set up under what’s called 'CFR Ireland’, which is 'Community First Responder Ireland’,” Mr Monaghan told The Anglo-Celt. 
The idea originated from an incident that happened in Wicklow in 2004, when a man suffered a cardiac arrest and was assisted with a defibrillator by the local community. 
As part of their efforts to get the new group off the ground, a CPR, Defibrillator and Stroke recognition day is being held in the Market Square in Cavan Town this Saturday, from 11am to 5pm. 
“What we’ll be doing is have training equipment in the square and for anyone who’s walking past, we’ll ask them if they’d like to have a go at CPR,” Mr Monaghan explained. 
The CPR will be performed on mannequins that will be at the Square and will involve an opportunity to learn how to perform chest compressions as well as using a defibrillator. 
There will also be leaflets handed out, raising awareness of cardiac arrest, stroke and other debilitating conditions. Representatives from the Irish Heart Foundation will also be in attendance at the event. 
Following the awareness day on Saturday, the first meeting of the new First Responders Group will be held in the Farnham Arms Hotel on the following Tuesday night, September 6, at 8.30pm. 
“We’re hoping for Cavan Town that there will be four people on call (at any one time),” said Mr Monaghan. “We’d be hoping to have two people on call out near Aldi and the housing estates there and maybe two people out at Loreto Wood and that area,” he further commented.