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?

When my dad was terminally ill, the most expert help and advice came from the local Hospice charity. No public funding at all, has to raise £8m a year in donations.

"Or the papers could print the pictures of people still out for a walk, when they've been told not to, along promenades etc, with an arrow pointing at the person, saying 'dickhead 1, dickhead 2 etc'."
It's a fine balance though isn't it and people risk assess. In storm Ciara, they were saying dont go out, but when you did go out, there were literally thousands out, and the majority were fine. Like walking along the prom....if there is railings there and you walk back, the worsfvthats going to happen is you get a soaking.

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

Exactly. Thank you xx

I was stunned to find out how much of child cancer research is funded entirely by charity Not least because of the vast amounts of money to be made by pharmas for developing a cure.

@PiggyPlumPie Thanks, interesting read. Link to the post, if anyone wants to read it:
m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2676315752417611&id=126730547376157

I was amazed when I found out that the coastguard and lifeboats were crewed by volunteers with regular day jobs. They are real heroes.

"thank god these servicesarerun and staffed by volunteers. Can you imagine the situation if they were run by the government or local authorities .

Hello, can you help, my child has drifted out to sea on a lilo.

One moment please I am transferring you to our call centre in Dubai.

( four seasons played on a loop)

Welcome to the UK Sea Rescue Service Helpline. W e are experiencing a high volume of calls and all our operators are busy. Your call is Important to us and will be answered as soon as possible. You are currently number 9 in the queue.

....... Some time later..........

Brighton. Can you spell that for me. Thankyou. And Brighton is is in the UK you say? I can see New Brighton, is that where you mean? ..... Thankyou for your patience I have alerted the Rescue Service and they will be dispatched presently, although there may be a delay as itisa bank holiday. Meanwhile, do you have a moment to answer these customer satisfaction questions.........."
You do know that if your child is washing out to sea on a lilo that you actually do ring 999 and the call immediately goes to search and rescue... our emergency services work very closely with these organisations.

@TabbyMumz, New Brighton is fairly local to me. There's been three people who've had to be rescued off the railings, because if they let go they would have been swept along, or possibly over into the sea.

This rescue was done by volunteers and the Police helicopter was used.

We've just had someone killed by us, in the local woods by a falling tree. Again, people were told to keep out because they knew there would be falling branches. These people are in their 60's and should know better.

As an aside, as a charity, the RNLI is loaded.

I have a lot of friends involved in the local mountain rescue team, their remit is incredibly varied, and they go to many different kinds of incidents, I know people who searched for remains at Lockerbie and kegworth and more recently provided support at Whaley bridge. On a weekly basis they post on Facebook about the incidents they have attended in search of someone vulnerable who has gone missing, in addition to their more widely recognised work. They aren’t one of the busier teams in the country by any stretch of the imagination. I think it’s also important to recognise that whilst the team members are volunteers, they are highly trained and experienced in what they do, including some who are medical professionals.

It makes me angry that people go out ill prepared for the conditions and by doing so effectively put these volunteers at risk when they need rescuing. However, Lochaber mountain rescue team have explained well in this post why a paid for or professional service wouldn’t work: www.facebook.com/lochabermrt/posts/2676315752417611?xts%5B0%5D=68.ARAhGRKT_L2GbU7I9gLU-RveKB5rZqE8HlkPYMxHJlOwMNS_x4VJ7wsm1ZTvmfYVvbmBLzP1CtJPLSpn_D5KGQrvO5plEMviariA-ofm-ybktJCq74A9xlVYNeb8s_6ckvhysbJkmDKDhY0FPlbcUxRw6GcKyW3wvey6CAGduVZ8KzWItMygIdzGRew5eLBbYsKjuePhZ6Kv19-cGqJ6BrNUG7Ek_kZizZajKZSe7bvNJz2Hh1cFrXJf3dBLjJtjby-5YwjZmbo2SsG6AUS5THNtx7vhYuJpTNQZEExWE-K-lcVqGchhwBlnxWYmx2ZWLZarSJsw4Z0T0wR6aJBCOgZdHQ&tn=K-R

Some charities are richer than the countries they work in, eg Salvation Army.

"We've just had someone killed by us, in the local woods by a falling tree. Again, people were told to keep out because they knew there would be falling branches. These people are in their 60's and should know better."
You cant just never go out though in case a tree falls on you. You risk assess. Thats what lifestyle about. If people had taken heed to the dont go out warning in storm Ciara, hundreds would have lost their jobs. Literally hundreds and thousands went out that day to work or for leisure. It's all about a balance. Also apart from that, lots of people have different mindsets, lots of people are mentally challenged or autistic. You are never going to get a situation where someone says dont do this, and everyone obeys.

It's shocking isn't it. My DF (and his dog!) are full volunteer members of SARDA, Lowland Rescue and Mountain Rescue in their area. He devotes truly enormous amounts of his time and money to doing this - the training that is involved is continuous and gruelling. For the SARDA training in particular he has to drive a 2.5 hour each-way trip once a week and gets no recompense for petrol costs, or when he gets called out, which can be several hours drive. They do an absolutely amazing job.

I used to do some work with an assistance dog charity when I lived near to their main HQ. A lot of people are shocked to learn that none of these charities - who provide an absolutely vital, life-changing service entirely free of charge to the many thousands of recipients all over the UK - get any government or NHS funding. Guide Dogs for the Blind, Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, Dogs for Good (previously Dogs for the Disabled), Canine Partners, Medical Detection Dogs etc. - they are entirely reliant on donations from the public and the tireless efforts of their staff and volunteers.

As an aside, as a charity, the RNLI is loaded

It's well-supported but depends on that support, so that could change if people stop giving. Like all charities they get in trouble if they hang onto funds for too long without good reason or spending them on charitable purposes .

The breast feeding advisory and support service in my area is volunteer run. Nhs midwives give you details for them, but i believe theyre not actually nhs funded. But they were such a valuable service at a much needed time for me

Public libraries. Our local council has the nerve to use case studies of volunteer workers as examples of in their strategy of ways they had helped their community [by growing a volunteer's self esteem].

They don't want to be - they feel they would be hampered by risk assessments etc, and that also the organisation would end up being even more underfunded as govt. cutbacks hit them - and of course, bureaucracy would make them top-heavy, vital cash would go to pay managers and PR etc.

Charities and voluntary organisations have to comply with health and safety legislation.

There ought to be government funding for many of these voluntary services and it could be done without excessive interference if the government of the day took the time to set it up correctly. The National Lottery is essentially a voluntary tax system set-up to support charity and voluntary organisations.

May I introduce to you the brave souls of the Pidley fen mountain rescue who venture forth to help out in that mountainous area of Pidley fen with dizzying heights of 88 feet!!!

www.pidleymountainrescue.org.uk/

And here are some "rescues" they'e done :))

www.pidleymountainrescue.org.uk/rescues.html

They probably don’t want to be funded because it gives them more freedom.

Unfortunately the National Lottery money goes to some pretty dodgy organisations.

I worked for Wilsar for 8 years covering Salisbury Plain among other areas. We were all volunteers - about 40 of us available day and night. 5 or 6 of us were fully certified to run searches. Others were skilled in comms, misper psychology, the legalities of what we could/couldn’t do....
It’s a skilled job but the police simply don’t have the bandwidth

Tabbymumz

Yes of course I know that. 999 is the normal emergency services plus coastguard if you are by the sea, or river police if you are in London.. I was imagining how the service would look if it was run directly by the government or local authorities with financial and customer service targets to meet rather than the volunteers who give their time, their expertise and sometimes their lives to help others.

Sorry you didn't get it.

"I was imagining how the service would look if it was run directly by the government or local authorities with financial and customer service targets to meet rather than the volunteers who give their time, their expertise and sometimes their lives to help others."
Saying "sorry you didnt get it", is rude.
Your spiel described what it would be like if run by the government...well the police, fire, ambulance do get funding from the government and the 999 service when you call up is excellent.

Tabbymumz

My point exactly. Have you tried ringing for an ambulance , or for police to attend an incident . In London you can't ring your local police station (if you still have one )everything goes to a regional centre and is then relayed to the local police and you are usually waiting for a while before they answer and even longer before they come. The non emergency number is not usually manned and calling for an ambulance is like throwing six sixes in a row, not impossible, but unlikely.

The beautiful gardens you visit NT volunteer gardeners. The people who work in the buildings volunteers. I wonder sometimes how many volunteers we have in this country.