BASICS volunteer doctors thanked by grateful patient

A Plymouth man who suffered a fall at home and was treated by volunteers from BASICS Devon was so impressed with the response that he is now raising funds for the charity organisation.

The team from BASICS were first on the scene responding to the emergency at Barrington Sowden’s home in Milehouse. They found him injured and unable to move on the floor.

Barrington explained what happened: “I spent 14 years in the Royal Navy and was an active member of the then Devonport Field Gun Crew where I sustained a back injury in 1978, which meant I had to be medically discharged from the Navy in 1986.

“I have continued to have major back problems since and underwent my first back surgery in 1995. At the beginning of 2022 I noticed loss of power in my right leg and in November I fell down the stairs.”

Dr Tony Golding-Cook and paramedic Conor Colby responded to the call out, whilst on duty in the BASICS Devon rapid response vehicle.

Barrington recalls those moments: “I called the ambulance, and this was my first contact with BASICS Devon as they came to my aid in a matter of minutes.

“I was so taken by their professionalism and caring attitude that I wanted to know more about the service which they explained while we waited for the ambulance. At the same time they informed me that they would remain with me until the ambulance arrived, no matter how long that was.’

The BASICS Devon volunteers were able to administer vital pain relief to get Barrington up off the floor and feel more comfortable.

“I felt at that moment that I wanted to do something for this voluntary organisation, so I decided there and then that as the chairman of the Kingsmen Harmony Club, I would said: “This is an enormously important contract win for us. Primarily it further evidences our customer’s confidence in our HMT 400 product after 20 years of service. Furthermore it gives us a platform to secure potential export orders and thereby shows how investment in UK products can provide benefit to the wider UK economy.”

The contract further builds on Babcock’s well-established relationship with Supacat, having worked together to meet the demand for Afghanistan when over 600 vehicles were assembled at Devonport within a three-year period.”

All together the investment helped secure 1,460 new jobs.The pipeline for next year looks promising with 23 projects worth £5m and the creation of 8,000 jobs on the cards, of which 3,500 are high-value graduate jobs, with 74% coming from the marine sector.

Council Leader Richard Bingley said:

“Foreign investment in Plymouth is booming. We made it a firm commitment to open Plymouth to global business and drive more high-value jobs to the city. I agree with the recent news, Plymouth should not be underestimated.

“Despite the pandemic and the aftershock on the global economy, we are making sure that we are grabbing opportunities that come our way.

“A typical investment project can take a few years to land as companies will keep a close eye on macroeconomics and the global market place before making a final decision. These huge investments are made by global companies who have faith in the knowledge, skills and technology that we can create here in Plymouth.” choose BASICS Devon as my charity and we are now in the planning process for a concert in September of this year.”

Recent major investments in the city, have included £120m from Meta/Plessey and £70m from Becton Dickinson along with Amazon £10m and Barden £8m.

Amie Bull, fundraising manager of BASICS Devon was also out observing that day. She said: “As soon as we arrived at Barrington’s house, the doctors just wanted to establish what had happened, how he felt and most of all to relieve his pain.

“He is such a lovely man and a pleasure to talk to whilst we waited for the ambulance to arrive.”

Dr Golding-Cook said: “We are just so glad we could be there for Barrington. We are thrilled that he wants to support us and are really excited about the concert. He is clearly a talented musician and we cannot wait to share all the details with our supporters.” The concert will be held in September 2023 and details once bookings are open, will be shared on Kingsmen - Barbershop Harmony Chorus - Kingsbridge, BASICS Devon social media and at www.basics-devon.org.uk/events