Each Co-Responder call-out costs nearly �100
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An emergency medical service in west Cornwall is under threat because of funding problems.
The co-responders in St Kevern, Mullion and Helston are firefighters who respond to medical emergencies and wait until ambulances arrive.
They are paid for by the county's fire brigade, but with a shortfall in next year's budget, the brigade says it cannot afford to keep it going.
Co-responders attended 200 incidents in 2005 at a cost of �97 a call-out.
Swift response
The Westcountry Ambulance Trust trained the firefighters on the Lizard to attend medical emergencies.
When a patient dials 999, an ambulance is sent. But until it turns up, the co-responders administer treatment.
But the service is facing being cut after it was estimated that the number of call-outs in 2005 cost the brigade nearly �20,000.
Local councillors are concerned that if the service is stopped it will leave the Lizard without swift medical response facilities.
One-Minute World News
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