A HEART-ATTACK victim whose life was saved by a Magpas volunteer is calling for others to volunteer for training – which takes only a few days. Thanks to the medics emergency charity – people in Cambridgeshire are seven times more likely to survive an ou

A HEART-ATTACK victim whose life was saved by a Magpas volunteer is calling for others to volunteer for training - which takes only a few days.

Thanks to the medics emergency charity - people in Cambridgeshire are seven times more likely to survive an out-of-hospital heart attack than the national average.

George Scott, whose life was saved by Heather Day who works in Huntingdon, said: "I am living proof that Magpas saves lives."

Meeting up again with Heather, whose day job is in the control room at Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue headquarters, he added: "I am so grateful to her for saving my life and I would urge everyone to consider becoming a Community First Responder."

Heather was called out to Mr Scott's home in Doddington when he suffered a cardiac arrest. His wife called 999 and Heather was alerted and on the scene within minutes. She worked on Mr Scott with a neighbour, Ann Chambers, who is a retired nurse. They gave Mr Scott mouth-to-mouth and chest compressions and also used the automatic defibrillator Magpas volunteers carry in their medical kit bag.

He said: "If it weren't for the First Responders, I would not be here today. I believe the groups in the Huntingdon area need more volunteers so even more lives can be saved in the years to come."

Heather said, "It is lovely to see George looking so well. The last time I saw him it was really touch and go whether he would survive."

She said: "Becoming a Magpas First Responder is really easy. The charity trains you and gives you the equipment and alert system. The members of each local group then take it in turns to be on call. You are based at home, so you don't need to make wholesale changes to your normal daily routine."

For the past for years, Magpas, the medics emergency service, has trained members of the public to become First Responders, armed to save lives when they are first on the scene in a crisis.

The charity, (which started 36 years ago as the Mid-Anglia GP Accident Service) has 32 groups of volunteer First Responders, lifesaving groups across the county.

Local ones are based at St Ives, St Neots, Warboys, Hemingford, Needingworth, Somersham and Earith. There are also plans for groups in Huntingdon and Bluntisham.

Magpas spokesman Christian Morris said, "It was great to see Mr Scott looking so well and he was obviously very grateful to Heather for saving his life. I hope this inspires lots of people to consider becoming a Magpas volunteer. We have groups all over this area and it only takes a few days training to be able to save a life like Heather did."

INFORMATION: Interested in becoming a Magpas First Responder? Call 01480 371 060 (during normal office hours) to find out more.

Festive Magpas cards

MAGPAS is calling on people to buy their Christmas cards and put up lights displays to raise funds for the charity.

Spokesman Christian Morris said: "Last year, we were inundated with requests for Magpas Christmas Cards. As a result we contacted Studio 51 and now everyone can order their cards over the internet and support the charity at the same time."

For every £1 spent on the cards, 51p will go to Magpas' lifesaving volunteers when people go to www.studio51.com and choose Magpas as their charity.

INFORMATION: If you are putting up lights this Christmas and would like to make a collection for Magpas, call Mr Morris on 01480 371 060 during normal office hours. Magpas Christmas Cards can be bought from www.studio51.com