Penryn students help save a life on a Cornwall 999 call

Only around 8% of people who suffer a cardiac arrest outside hospital get their heartbeat back. Three students from a society that did not exist two years ago were part of the team that beat those odds.

Members of Penryn First Aid Society, based at Falmouth and Exeter Students’ Union, were dispatched as Community First Responders to a 999 call involving a person in cardiac arrest. Working alongside ambulance crews and other emergency responders, the three students helped resuscitate the patient and contributed to saving their life.

For a group founded in September 2024, it is a remarkable moment.

📷Penryn First Aid Society Training Photo

What the students did

The South Western Ambulance Service’s Volunteering and Community Services department set out what happened on the call.

The three students assisted with CPR, defibrillation, ventilation and airway management, and helped move the patient into the ambulance. They also drove the air ambulance crew to the scene, collecting the critical care paramedic and doctor from the helicopter landing site.

In its statement, the department said the students, “along with other prehospital teams contributed to the patient achieving a return of spontaneous circulation.” The patient’s heart was beating and they were breathing on their own before being taken to hospital for further care.

Return of spontaneous circulation is the outcome that around 92% of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests never reach.

📷Penryn First Aid Society Training Photo

From three members to 184 callouts

Penryn First Aid Society was founded by Sammy Kraft and Kate Lindeque in September 2024, starting with just three members. Since September 2025 it has completed over 500 hours of volunteering and responded to 184 emergency callouts across Cornwall. Its members have taught CPR to more than 100 people.

The society now runs fortnightly training sessions and multi-agency emergency scenarios with HM Coastguard, Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service and the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust. It also supports students volunteering as Community First Responders at live 999 incidents.

Angela Novell, chief executive of Falmouth and Exeter Students’ Union, said the society showed what student clubs could achieve.

“Penryn First Aid Society is a powerful example of how our clubs and societies at The SU are not only bringing together students across the partnership to collaborate but quite literally, our students saving lives in our community,” she said. “We couldn’t be more proud or happy to be part of their success.”

📷Penryn First Aid Society Training Photo

Bridging the gap in rural Cornwall

Cornwall has some of the longest ambulance response times in England. Community First Responders help fill the gap in the critical minutes before an ambulance arrives, providing immediate care and reassurance to patients when it matters most.

The society is now looking to set up a programme of certified first aid courses on campus, aiming to make accredited training cheaper for students and staff. It is currently seeking funding to get the project off the ground.

More about the union is at Falmouth and Exeter Students’ Union.

📷Penryn First Aid Society Training Photo