Heartfelt donation to ambulance service

The loss of a loved one is always a dark time for a family, and there is sometimes little we can do apart from showing compassion and sensitivity in those sad situations.

This was the case for those who attended the 999 call for Patricia Poulain on 17th February this year. Paramedics Kevin McEvoy, Paul Warwick and Jessica Kyle treated Patricia, 82, after she suffered a stroke at her home in Delview, Canvey Island, and unfortunately died later that day in Southend University Hospital.

Despite the loss of her mum, Sue Ward and other family and friends were so grateful for the care Patricia received in her final hours that they raised more than £700 from her funeral – a substantial amount of money which they have kindly donated to EEAST.

Sue, 51, of Hullbridge said: “The crews who arrived on Canvey that day were amazing, showing great care and compassion to our mother, and also offering great support to us, to whom we will be forever grateful for and will never forget. The kindness extended to the paramedics coming into the Resuscitation Unit to see how our mum was doing which, to our family, shows how passionate they are about the work they do and the people who they care for.”

Patricia’s family visited Canvey ambulance station last week (Friday, 30th October) to present Kevin and Paul with a cheque for £700.10pence - as well as a touching thank-you card.

Sue added: “We raised this money from mum’s funeral and wanted to donate this money to EEAST because we feel they truly deserve it, making our mum feel as comfortable as they possibly could, given the circumstances, and we know our mum would be only too pleased to have this donation going to an extremely worthy cause.”

Senior Locality Manager Lisa Fautley was also at Canvey station to thank the family and staff: “It is a pleasure to see that the actions of my staff have had such a positive impact on a lovely family. This was sadly an unfortunate outcome for them but clearly the efforts of the crew and the attention Patricia’s family received at such a difficult time have had a lasting effect resulting in such a generous donation. I would personally like to thank everyone involved.”

Upon receiving the cheque, both Kevin and Paul found the reunion emotionally overwhelming; with 31 members of Patricia’s family turning up to thank them consisting of her six children, 15 grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren. Paul said: “It’s clear to see now that she was part of a very big, happy family – she would be proud of what her family have done.”

The money is going to be used to purchase training equipment to support current and new community first responders in Canvey.

Published 5th November, 2015