Every week the BBC’s One Show has a feature called ‘One Big Thank You’ to highlight people who have done extraordinary things in their community.
On Thursday 6 February 2025, it was the turn of James Mackeddie, from Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire.
James has volunteered as a community first responder (CFR) with South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) for three years, and in that time has helped to treat hundreds of patients in his local area.
CFRs are locally based volunteers with advanced first aid training who arrive on scene to an emergency and can provide an initial assessment and treatment while the ambulance is on the way. For many patients, this can be lifesaving.
In order to surprise James, the One Show came up with the clever guise of convincing him to come to the set of Casualty in Cardiff to help formulate a new character on the show – a CFR! But it wasn’t long until the true reason for the visit came to light.
You can watch it on BBC iPlayer here (available until 7 March; the feature on James starts at 01:44)
James said:
After a brief tour, it was a real surprise to see my community engagement training officer (CETO), the chief executive of South Central Ambulance Charity who fund our training, equipment, uniform and more, along with fellow CFRs present. I didn’t twig what was going on. I thought they were here to help. I was very shocked to then be presented with One Big Thank You. It was a great day and an experience I will never forget.
James’ CETO, Tracy Mould, said:
Not only is James a great ambassador for this volunteer role, but he also gives up his time to attend public events and engages with the community. In addition to this, James also raises funds for the SCAS charity every year with some crazy personal challenges; challenges that make me feel tired just thinking about them!
Vanessa Casey, CEO South Central Ambulance Charity, also added her congratulations to James, saying:
We are really proud of everything James does for his community, the SCAS community and our charity. Thanks to people like James, we are able to enhance the patient care we can offer. This is only made possible through the fundraising efforts of James and people like him in the community. Our volunteer responders are fully funded by voluntary donations to the charity.
James concluded his day feeling proud and grateful but also humbled by the efforts his colleagues and The One Show had gone to, saying:
Never had I imagined a One Big Thank You was coming my way and as much as its aimed at the individual, I see this for all community first responders who give up their free time to help strangers on the worst days of their lives.
SCAS is incredibly grateful to all the CFR volunteers who support our frontline crews and truly make a difference in the lives of the patients they attend to.
You can find out more about the role, and how to apply, here.
