AIBU to be stunned that this service is entirely run by volunteers?

[crosspelican]

I was at a presentation this week given by Oxfordshire Lowland Search & Rescue - it turns out that when people go missing, the police don't always actually go out & look themselves, they call organisations like this, in particular if it's your granny with dementia, or a teen who intends to commit suicide. These people can be out looking within 20 minutes, but of course when they find the person (or their body) it doesn't get the press those twats on Ben Nevis got, because nobody is going to tell the local press delightedly that their suicidal teen has been found safe and well and is thrilled to be going back to school tomorrow.

They said that the difference with their callouts is that the person often doesn't know they are lost (dementia) or doesn't want to be found (suicidal).

They're all volunteers, their equipment (vehicles etc) is all donated. They're not the first port of call for ALL missing people - they had 70 callouts in Oxfordshire last year, but I am really surprised that this is not fully funded by the police, because surely they are a branch of the police?

oxsar.org.uk/what-we-do/

Is there anything that you were surprised to find out is NOT funded by taxpayers?

Mountain rescue is a volunteer-run organisation too.

They do things like pull 4 numpties wearing trainers off Ben Nevis on Monday in a raging storm.

Lifeboats too - we visited Northumberland and in one of the stations they had a "wall of shame" detailing the times they'd been called out to rescue people on the crossing to Lindisfarne despite all the warnings to beware of the tide.

I agree OP. I was completely shocked that RNLI is not government funded. Especially bearing in mind the kit, dangerous work they do and the hours.

Air Ambulances!

Mountain Rescue also conduct missing person searches as well - plus help during periods of bad weather such as the recent flooding , it's not all pulling numpties off the top of mountains (and in fact the vast majority of those never make the news either!)

I think they're a bit like the RNLI in that they wouldn't want to be state-funded as it could lead to a level of governance that would impede what they do.

(run by donations - no public funding)

No, I didn't realize that. Thank you for bringing that to people's attention.

I think there's a difference between a call out for someone with dementia or someone who is suicidal and the incident with those idiots on Ben Nevis.
I think that people hiking in the mountains should have to have insurance for this and the rescue should be paid for, either by the insurance or by the person themselves. I live in the Alps and it's like that here - no insurance and you'll be paying for the helicopter rescue. Most people who go hiking regularly are members of the Alpine Club where you are insured for this as part of the membership. It costs around 50 Euros per year.

I am forever shocked by the RNLI given that we are an island. You would think the government would properly fund a coastguard.

By those twats on Ben Nevis OP I am assuming you do not mean the volunteers who work tirelessly to rescue people off the mountain. In some cases these people have been stupid but many cases are unforeseen accidents etc.

It is pretty awe inspiring. These guys are experts and specialists in what they do. They leave work, family dinners, special occasions and are out risking their lives for our loved ones as soon as their pagers go off.

The recent Ben Nevis idiots were foreign-national students from Glasgow. Ill-prepared, ill-equipped. No maps, no winter clothing, no proper footwear. Unfortunately the open access to UK mountains means they can get in a car or on a train to Fort William and off up into the hills without anyone telling them what idiots they are.

Totally agree that people who get into these difficulties of their own making should pay towards their rescue.

Mountain rescue, lowland rescue, lifeboats and community first responder volunteers are amazing.

By those twats on Ben Nevis OP I am assuming you do not mean the volunteers who work tirelessly to rescue people off the mountain

Surely obvious 😂

One of our best friends is a lowland rescue volunteer in Dorset. There is simply no money anywhere to fund this sort of thing. Austerity bites, people...

Mountain rescue, lowland rescue, lifeboats and community first responder volunteers are amazing.

Yes, they are. Aside from the actual rescues, the amount of training they undergo is incredible - they put in hours and hours of their own time to be prepared for all kinds of situations. I know a lot of people here in the Alps who are in mountain rescue, red cross (we don't have ambulances with paramedics here in the back of beyond), fire brigade - they train every single week, week in and week out. Many people give 40 years of service before eventually retiring.

Unfortunately, in recent times, the mountain rescue teams have been called out to more and more totally avoidable situations. We get a lot of tourists here who don't look at the weather forecast and take themselves off for a wander through the mountains in inappropriate footwear and clothing and get stuck somewhere. Or there are the ones that suffer from exhaustion and have to be helicoptered off. This means our mountain rescue teams are having to risk their lives for what amounts to complete stupidity (and in some cases arrogance - I can do anything type of mentality).
But as I said, upthread, the rescue has to be paid for.

I'm stunned that you're stunned, mountain rescue has always been staffed by volunteers as are many rescue organisations. Fifty years ago I used to be out on the Dales getting idiots out of danger, usually inexperienced, not an ounce of training and unsuitably clothed/shod.

Thank goodness for volunteers. Amidst so much utter selfishness, these amazing people restore my faith in humans.

Austerity bites, people..

Sorry deary, this isn't a political football for you to kick at, no government, even the red ones, has ever funded these rescue organisations.
It was the PC fanatics who cause probelms within the RNLI a couple of years ago over a petty infringement of their god-given pc rules.

I am always shocked by RNLI

Yes,air ambulances and hospices. These are always the causes of choice at work as (so far) nobody had objected to them.

The firefighters in Australia, fighting the huge fires they’ve had. Putting their lives on the line every day. Volunteers! That blows my mind!

I've seen people try and do Snowdon in White Stilletos

So many services - blood bikers, RNLI, emergency disaster radio, search dogs, lowland & mountain rescue, service animals, many hospices, air ambulance.........never ending list.....may have paid staff but all publicly funded.

Special constables and St John Ambulance are also unpaid volunteers.

I live in an area with mountain rescue teams and know a few volunteers and yes, sadly a lot of the stuff they get called out for could have been avoided with proper preparation.

However, the volunteers tend to be against charging people because they don't want to put people off calling for help. They also point out that it's comparable to charging smokers for lung cancer care, alcoholics for liver disease treatment, or obese people for insulin. At what point do you draw the line?

Also a lot of the people they rescue do go on to make significant donations.

I only recently found out the local search and rescue were completely funded by donations in order for the volunteers to purchase the equipment they need. They do a fantastic job at coming together quickly and searching in all conditions for a lost person

If anyone shops at Amazon, you can use the link to Amazon UK on the RNLI site every time you visit the Amazon site and a small percentage of what you spend will be donated to the RNLI at no cost to you.

rnli.org/support-us/give-as-you-shop/shop-at-amazon