One of our first bikes is the one that is shown on the picture. It has been in operation 
since 2005 and has fully proved itself.
It is fully equipped with a CD oxygen cylinder, AED, advanced first aid kit, bio hazard kit, GPS, lights, siren etc.
We are currently looking for sponsors for this bike and others like this; it would be a great opportunity for a business as we cover events all over England.
The benefit of the cycle scheme will provide members of public in South and West Yorkshire with rapid response emergency treatment. A cycle response scheme has been in operation in York since 2001 with great success.There has also been a successful cycle response unit operating in Leeds for the last two years. The Huddersfield scheme will be operated by volunteers and will provide the same benefits as the scheme run by Tees , East and North Yorkshire Ambulance Service (now Yorkshire Ambulance Service).
Cycle response is not only environmentally friendly but can achieve fantastic levels of response by attending to 98% of life-threatening calls within eight minutes.
Towns and cities are now becoming increasingly pedestrianised which makes it difficult for an ambulance to arrive on scene quickly. However, a cycle can move quickly and safely through crowds. Each bike would need to carry basic equipment including oxygen and an automated defibrillator, enabling the responder to provide emergency care in many situations including cardiac arrests. Research carried out by the British Heart Foundation found that survival decreases between 7% and 10% for every minute after collapse for patients in ventricular fibrillation (heart attack). If a cycle is available to respond in a town centre and deliver life saving treatment within good time a patients chance of survival increases dramatically.
THE Cycle Response Unit begins patrolling the City of London this week.
A team of four EMT3s and paramedics will use the bike to attend emergency calls in the City of London for a two-month trial. The bike itself is the same as those used by the successful cycle units operating in the West End and at Heathrow Airport, both of which regularly reach patients before ambulances.
The new bike will be dispatched to all 999 calls in the area and, where the patient is believed to be in a life-threatening condition, will be sent at the same time as a regular ambulance crew so that treatment can begin before they arrive.
In cases where the patient is understood to be suffering from a more minor injury or illness, the bike will initially be sent on its own and then be able to request further assistance if required – freeing up ambulances to attend other, potentially life-threatened, patients elsewhere.
"More than 300,000 people work in the City of London and their numbers are swelled by the several million tourists who visit the area each year," said City Cycle Response Unit member Paul Davies.
"Using the bike gives us an opportunity to save vital seconds in starting treatment, especially in the narrow streets which ambulances have difficulty negotiating quickly. We can also cancel down ambulances if they are not needed."
"In the West End, for example, we cancel about 50 per cent of ambulances when it is clear that they are not required. In the City, we have built links with the Liverpool Street NHS Walk-in Centre and will be referring patients there when appropriate."
The four riders have been trained to the International Police Mountain Bike Association (IPMBA) standard.
The West End Cycle Response Unit regularly reaches 100 per cent of Category A calls within eight minutes, and the Heathrow unit, 94 per cent. It is hoped that the City unit will be able to replicate this level of performance. (Article and photographs © LAS with thanks)
We are recruiting staff for both Cycle Response and CVO - please get in touch via our contact page or take a look at CVO Bradford for further details.
