West Cumbrian Low Level Waste Repository is helping to save lives, after funding a new £1,500 medical kit to be used in the more rural parts of the area.

Community First Responder Karen Eddy, a building manager on the LLWR Site, asked the company for help to supply a new kit for the Bootle & District Group. The necessary equipment included a defibrillator, pulse oximeter, and oxygen.

Karen is also a member of the Gosforth & District Group, and her patch includes Drigg, Calderbridge, Ravenglass, Gosforth, Eskdale and Wasdale.

“We are absolutely over the moon with this donation,” she said, expressing her gratitude for LLWR’s support. “Without it, we would not have been able to get the kit. Although we work on a voluntary basis for North West Ambulance Service, we fund all our own equipment through donations and fundraising.”

First Responders are typically called out to cases of immediate threat to life, such as suspected heart attacks, strokes, or respiratory arrests. The trained specialists usually arrive before the ambulance, providing invaluable treatment to patients that could mean the difference between life and death.

Karen is permitted by LLWR to leave work whenever she is called out to a local community emergency, which can be multiple times a week. The caring First Responder is always on call, and recently attended two different emergencies in the same night, causing her to be late to work after a busy night of saving lives.

She spoke of her love for the unpaid role, saying: “If you can help save a life, what more can you do?” she added. “It’s the ultimate [achievement].”

Karen went on to discuss the community work her group does: “The Bootle & District Group will be at the Black Combe Country Fair in August to promote our case, and give people a chance to try CPR and other life saving techniques. We rely on donations from our local community to keep our equipment up to date and our bleeps functioning, so are always looking for opportunities to raise awareness.”

Karen is one of many at LLWR who volunteer and give their time to community roles, and the company supports their efforts by giving volunteers special leave when they need it.

Cath Giel, Head of Public Affairs, commented on the initiative, and said: “It’s only fair that when those such as Karen show such incredible community spirit, we get behind them. Karen and her colleagues in the First Responders are doing a remarkable job.”