Volunteers put in thousands of hours to support COVID-19 response

COMMUNITY 1st responders (CFRs) have given almost 10,000 hours of support to North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) during the COVID-19 pandemic. CFRs are volunteers, trained and dispatched to deal with emergencies prior to the arrival of an Ambulance, able to provide early interventions in those crucial first minutes of an emergency. During the pandemic, CFRs have taken up additional roles fulfilling important tasks such as providing critical care transfer 24/7 support, delivering operational fit testing of frontline colleagues, meal deliveries to the wider NHS network, driving and supporting paramedics who are undertaking COVID-19 home swab testing, welfare support for colleagues, vehicle cleaning and protective personal equipment (PPE) packing and distribution, all in addition to responding to patients in their local area as usual. Between 28 March 2020 and 21 May 2020, CFRs offered their support on 1,500 separate occasions taking on a range of roles to help the organisation, volunteering 9,685 hours of their own time; equivalent to more than 400 days. More than 20,000 packs of PPE were packed at Bury Ambulance Station for the Greater Manchester area alone and CFR colleagues supported in the conversion of patient transport service (PTS) vehicles, enabling PTS fleet to be remodelled for emergency use by driving vehicles from across the North West to the vehicle workshop in South Cheshire.

Chief Executive Daren Mochrie said:- "We are extremely thankful to our community first responders, the support they provide is 2nd to none and they are an integral part of Team NWAS. The fact that all the work that they do for us is entirely in their own time is admirable and the courage and commitment that they have shown in recent weeks has been remarkable. Providing the right care to the people of the North West is always our number one priority and the additional support from our volunteers has helped us to continue to deliver that during this challenging time. Thank you."

Over the past 20 years CFRs have saved countless lives, conducted training sessions with the public in life-saving skills and helped lobby for changes in education which will soon see children learning basic life support in Schools.  David McNally, Interim Blue Light Collaboration and Community Engagement Manager, said:- "During these unprecedented times we are all facing, our volunteers have provided us with an amazing amount of support. We have had more than 300 NWAS CFRs registering to help which has enabled us to support operational demands in so many new ways; ranging from the movement of vehicles to allow modifications to our frontline fleet, PPE packaging allowing crews to be able to safely deliver care to our patients, manning welfare vehicles to support crews with refreshments, logistical transport to distribute our supplies to Ambulance stations to name only a few. This support has been amazing and one which we will continue to utilise in a safe way while we deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. I cannot thank our volunteers enough for all their time, commitment to the trust and their professionalism. Thank you so much."

More information about volunteering for NWAS can be found on their website.

'RISE'-ing up in lockdown

12 brand new arts commissions by Culture Liverpool will show how female artists from across the world have responded creatively to the Covid-19 pandemic. In a special online legacy project, forming part of the City's RISE season; which pays homage to extraordinary women across the globe;  the brand new micro commissions will provide a social commentary on the impact of Coronavirus. Podcasts, blogs, music, visual art, photography and film are all used to showcase a female response to the crisis, exploring social inequalities, isolation, loss, separation and trying to understand the 'new normal.'  

Director of Culture for Liverpool, Claire McColgan, said:- "This time in our lives is so unique and slowing down has proven to be a real creative force. These commissions give us a strong, female commentary on the pandemic; a commentary which so far seems to have been dominated by male voices.The 12 women have used lockdown as a way to tap into their creativity and produce empowering, thought-provoking and diverse pieces of work. More than ever, it's essential we shine a spotlight on incredible creative talent and make their work as accessible as possible and it's fantastic that we can achieve this by building on the success of last year's RISE programme. It's a clear message; things may be different right now, but there is still incredible art and culture on offer at the click of a button."

Erika Diettes said:- "It has been an honour to be a part of this RISE artist community; we come from different parts of the world and all share the same concerns and fears in these times of Covid-19. Introspection: Introspección deals with my personal loss and how I am coping with it during these difficult days of confinement. All I can think about is how we all can come together as artists at this moment and can try to make a difference is having empathy so we can RISE once again."

The commissions are:-

► Still; a photography collection by Liverpool artist Amber Akaunu inspired by how she has used this time to slow down and reconnect with herself and others.

► Lockdown; Yemeni-Scouse writer and performance artist Amina Atiq uses photography to re-tell her lockdown story.

► Virtual Insanity; This comedy short film shines a light on lockdown life and is written and produced by actors Cath Rice and Stephen Fletcher.

► Introspection: Introspección; Making a return to the RISE programme after opening the 2019 season, Colombian artist Erika Diettes uses self portraits to empower herself in the midst of Covid-19.

► And This is What Am Doing! Karen Gallagher uses dance to lighten the mood, creating a whole diary using only TikTok videos.

► Little Bird; Lizzie Nunnery has produced an emotive audio piece which provides a snapshot of a mother and daughter separated.

► Lucent; LIMF Academy alumni LUNA has focused on empowering females with a special track she has created using voice notes from Liverpool women about how they are coping with the health crisis.

► 45k; This piece of mobile phone photography, created by Clare Brumby, explores the gender divide in the UK and across the rest of the world, which has been further exposed during the Covid-19 lockdown.

► Oh hun Women's Hour; A series of women tell their life in lockdown stories in this podcast, including frontline workers, mothers, business owners and Council workers.

► Mothers Who Make Liverpool in Lockdown; This film by Claire Bigley documents the daily routines of women and uncovers the strength and resolve they have.

► And Still We Rise - A unique short video which includes contributions from a diverse range of participants to act as a reminder that throughout history, women have risen time and time again. It has been produced by Tmesis Theatre.

► Home Alone Together; Artist and activist Sharon Bailey has created this short film which challenges our idea about ageing and shows how culture can play a role in supporting vulnerable, isolated and lonely people.

All the unique commissions can be enjoyed by visiting the Culture Liverpool website. RISE has been created by Liverpool City Council and funded by Arts Council England.

Sharon Bailey said:- "It's fantastic to showcase my work alongside other women. There are so few opportunities around at the moment and this support is invaluable. It helped me to continue to tell the stories of those I met during the making of my recent Home Alone project. When you experience my diary and film you'll glimpse into the world of five older women, stuck at home, alone. As the lockdown starts to ease we can enter our communities again and be thankful, but I want people to remember that this won't be the same for everyone. There has been wonderful support and kindness shown to our older citizens during this time by the public. I'm optimistic this will continue but much more needs to be done. Our social care system is in crisis. Things need to change."