Luton SOS

An Emergency Response Service

The Luton SOS service is a project facilitated by the SLP for over 12 years.

The SOS Service is solely staffed by our trained team of dedicated volunteers, and 2 staff members, supporting those in need during the night-time economy and daytime community public events. This service has provided direct lifesaving interventions and treatment to members of the public, supplied hundreds of free refreshments, blankets and medical support to the homeless and vulnerable.

Our team has  provided a listening ear and emotional support to those experiencing bereavement, mental health difficulties, substance misuse and domestic violence victims, and through our SOS vehicles we have been able to transport many individuals to hospital admissions, when further treatment has been required. This in turn has helped to relieve the pressure on the ambulance service. Because we have attended to minor health demands during the busiest weekend periods, this has enabling the local ambulance paramedics to respond to the more serious call outs.

We are committed to our community engagement programme which is why we would like to introduce you to the Luton SOS Emergency Response Service which is a lifesaving and emergency response within the local community of Luton, and surrounding areas of Bedfordshire. Our aim is to help reduce the number of pre-hospital admissions and deaths.

Our staff and volunteers hold acredited First Aid qualifications and Team Leaders are qualified to a minimum of FREC 3 (First Response Emergency Care) to provide life-saving treatment to patients in the vital first few minutes of an emergency until ambulance crew arrives if required. When effective treatment is provided quickly, lives can be saved, and disability reduced. This is especially true for heart attacks and medical conditions which have caused someone to lose consciousness.

As our volunteers are based within the community, they may only be a minute or two away from a medical emergency and very often their role is to simply provide vital reassurance to patients and their families until the ambulance crew arrives if required. However, in extreme cases, such as a cardiac arrest, they can perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and use an automated external defibrillator (AED) to try and restart someone’s heart, which can potentially save their life. The Luton SOS Emergency Response Service is available for hire, so if you are looking for first aid cover for your community event or venue, please do get in touch.

We also hire out our mini bus, so if you need transport to take service users on a day trip or need it to for a work event, please email us for a quotation.

If you would like further details or if you would like to volunteer with us please contact:

Felicia Bailey- Volunteer Co-ordinator & Team Leader

Email: felicia.bailey@theslp.co.uk