Medics who volunteer their life-saving skills in emergency situations across Devon have been gifted funds to support their training.

Persimmon Homes Cornwall has chosen BASICS Devon as its Community Champion and awarded £1,000 from its charity fund to the cause.

BASICS Devon provides specialist volunteer immediate care doctors to assist front line emergency service colleagues when attending medical and trauma emergencies across the county.

The doctors bring additional skills and experience as well as vital drugs and equipment to emergency situations.

Fundraising manager, Amie Bull, explained: “The volunteers help relieve strain on the ambulance service, reduce response times and can reach isolated, vulnerable individuals in life-threatening situations in remote communities fast, giving them the best chance of survival before they reach the hospital.”

“We are raising funds to enable our volunteers to attend specialist education and training. One of the courses that is crucial for the doctors to study, especially when they need to perform lifesaving procedures on location, at a roadside or in a field, is the Pre-Hospital Emergency Medicine (PHEMS) Emergency Surgical Skills Course, and we will be putting this generous donation towards those costs.”

Jane Cartwright, sales director for Persimmon Homes Cornwall, said: “Our region has some very remote areas and it is re-assuring to know these volunteers have got us and the emergency service covered with some extra support.”

“The volunteers truly are Community Champions and we are honoured to be able to support them in this way.”

Persimmon Homes Cornwall launched Community Champions with a view to helping community groups, charities and good causes across Devon and Cornwall with two donations of up to £1,000 made locally every month.

Each month the Launceston-based builder donates up to £2,000 to community groups across the region. This also happens across Persimmon’s other 31 operating areas, meaning up to £64,000 is dished out every single month – a total of £768,000 a year.

For more information or to apply for Community Champions funding www.persimmonhomes.com/charity