The Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis, Patron of Hatzola HBS, fixed a Mezuzah to the Hatzola HBS cabin – a powerful symbol of pikuach nefesh and marking a major milestone for the community’s life-saving emergency response service.
The cabin, which was kindly donated by Lucy and David Wernick, stores essential medical equipment will support Hatzola HBS in delivering rapid professional pre-hospital care across Hadley Wood, Barnet, Totteridge, Southgate and Cockfosters. The volunteer-run service received CQC approval on 23 July 2025 and has already grown to more than 65 trained volunteers.
The service is made up of male and female First Responders and Dispatchers, reflecting the make-up of the local community. The volunteers operate within a halachic framework advised by Rabbi Akiva Rosenblatt and Rabbi Toby Weiniger, Rabbi of Hadley Wood United Synagogue, together with other local rabbonim, Rabbi Lister of Barnet United Synagogue and Rabbi Shindler of Cockfosters & North Southgate Synagogue, under the guidance of Dayan Zobin at London Beth Din.
The two Hatzola HBS ambulances were fundraised for by the local community, and a team of highly trained Dispatcher and First Responder volunteers has been built up. Senior doctors and consultants are available to the team as needed to give on-the-ground advice on supporting patients in complex cases. Working alongside NHS hospitals and emergency services across North London, Hatzola HBS responders are equipped with AEDs, oxygen, ECG machines, trauma dressings and other specialist medical equipment – all made possible through the generosity of the community. By working to support London Ambulance Hatzola HBS is contributing to cohesion and inclusivity which is so important in the current climate.
Earlier on Sunday 8 February, the Chief Rabbi attended the morning minyan at Barnet United Synagogue followed by a visit to Cockfosters and Southgate Synagogue before arriving for the mezuzah-affixing ceremony.
Adam Greenblatt, Clinical Lead who trains local First Responder volunteers, demonstrated how the kit bags and defibrillators are used. A fully equipped Responder bag costs £2500 and a defibrillator cost £1,500. Many of the kit bags have been kindly donated in memory by members of the local community. Lauren Lesin-Davis, Dispatcher, gave a demonstration of the vital role the volunteer Dispatchers play as the first point of contact to the patients and their families before the First Responders arrive on scene of a medical emergency. Lucy Lermer, gave a firsthand account of a day in the life of an emergency First Responser.
Hatzola HBS was founded by Jacky Epstein Founder and Relationship Manager whose vision was shaped by personal tragedy after two friends passed away nearly four years ago when an ambulance was unable to reach them in time.
Jacky said, “Today, we are delighted to have Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis with us as our Patron and we are honoured that he has come to affix the Mezuzah for us. We are also so grateful to all of the Rabonim who have helped us to develop our halachic guidelines and we owe huge thanks to the generosity of Lucy and David Wernick for donating the Hatzola HBS cabin to store our vital life-saving supplies. We hope that this will serve as a model for the development of other Hatzola’s elsewhere in London and anglo-Jewry.
“We are so grateful for the support of the local community without whom we could not have got this service off the ground. It is thanks to their continued support and to all of our volunteer responders and dispatchers that we can to keep this life-saving service running seven days a week.
“We rely on the community’s support to help to fund this service and we also invite more volunteers to come forward to train as First Responders and Dispatchers. Our volunteers tell us that it is a privilege to serve the community in this way and to do this life-saving work is such an incredibly rewarding experience.”
Addressing the guests, The Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis, said,
“It is a very moving experience and incredibly inspiring for me to be with the Hatzola HBS volunteers today. They are so motivated and have such a passion for helping other people and it’s not just a small amount of help – it’s genuinely saving lives. This is an enormous tribute to the participating communities and to the volunteers themselves – it is a kiddush Hashem and is Judaism in its finest form, and our communities are privileged to be guided by the Rabbonim and Rebetzens of this area.”
“When we bench we say the words hatzala and hatzlacha together – hatzala is saving and hatzlacha is success and the two go hand in hand. By establishing Hatzola HBS you’ve reached hatzlacha (success) with a first-rate group of volunteers who are ready to save lives and assist those who need a refua shelema you are achieving that aspiration.”
Hatzola HBS provides free, professional pre-hospital care to communities running across the area of New/East/High/Friern Barnet, Cockfosters, Hadley Wood, Southgate and Totteridge.
Since the launch, the volunteer Dispatchers and First Responders have assisted a multitude of patients who have reached out to the service. Many have shared how well they felt were treated and are grateful to be assisted at a difficult time when they may have had to wait much longer for medical support and to be seen in hospital.
One member of the community, whose parent was supported by Hatzola HBS, said, “I can’t thank the team at Hatzola HBS enough. They were so professional, kind and caring to my mother and knew exactly what to do when we needed help. It is incredibly reassuring and comforting to know that our community is served by an organisation who can provide a rapid emergency response service.”
Working alongside the NHS and national emergency services, Hatzola HBS responds to all calls —Jewish and non-Jewish alike— 7AM-11PM, 7 days a week.