A TEAM of volunteer doctors who carry out life-saving work in Cumbria received a huge donation from freemasons in the county. 

The BEEP Doctors (BASICS) Cumbria charity has been given £1,700, raised by the Beacon Lodge of Freemasons at Penrith, supplemented by the Cumberland and Westmorland Province’s Matching Fund.

Beep Doctors chair Dr Theo Weston said: "On behalf of the Beep Doctors, I would like to say a huge ‘thank you’ for this amazing donation. It will greatly aid us in our quest to assist those who are sick or injured, throughout Cumbria.

“It costs more than £150,000 a year to keep our charity going and we rely solely on donations and fund-raising events, so this generous amount of money will make a huge difference to the people of Cumbria in need of emergency medical care.”

Cumbria’s BEEP Doctors provide enhanced pre-hospital emergency care. They work closely with the police and fire services, North West Ambulance Service, Great North Air Ambulance Service and North West Air Ambulance.

At incidents BEEP Doctors can carry out some surgical procedures, such as inserting chest drains; some can perform pre-hospital anaesthetics; and all are able to administer drugs that most road crew paramedics cannot, such as ketamine/fentanyl to give pain relief and allow fracture manipulation.

Many of the emergencies they attend are road traffic collisions, as well as incidents involving farms, pushbikes, horses and water.

In 2022 the BEEP Doctors (BASICS) Cumbria charity attended 262 incidents and members completed 1,656 volunteering hours.

Alex Parker, treasurer of the Beacon Lodge of Freemasons, said: 

“I have always been aware of the good work that they do at serious road traffic accidents and other incidents and so felt it would be a really good charity to support.

“I understand Beep Doctors have recently expanded the number of their vehicles and realised that there are expenses which go with that.

“I also believed there was a strong chance they would receive some matching funding from the Cumberland and Westmorland Province, as they cover the whole of Cumbria. In addition, I attend the Birbeck Medical Group practice in Penrith where Dr Weston used to be a doctor.”