Community First Responders (CFRs) are trained to provide life-saving treatment to patients in the vital first few minutes of an emergency until an ambulance crew arrives. If effective treatment is provided quickly, lives can be saved and disability reduced. This is especially true for cardiac arrest, heart attacks and medical conditions which have caused someone to lose consciousness.

 

When a 999 call is received in the ambulance service operations centre, an ambulance response is dispatched. At the same time, a CFR on-call in the area can be alerted and asked to attend the incident to ensure that help reaches the patient as quickly as possible.

 

As our volunteers are based within the community, they may only be a minute or two away from a medical emergency and often their role is to carry out basic observations and provide vital reassurance to patients and their families until the ambulance crew arrives. However, in extreme cases, such as a cardiac arrest, they can perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and use an automated external defibrillator (AED) to try and restart someone’s heart, which can potentially save their life.

 

The type of incidents and medical emergiencies we attend can include

Cardiac Arrest

Heart Attacks 

Strokes

Anaphylaxis

Road Traffic Collisions

Trauma Injuries

Choking

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Working with the West Midlands Ambulance Service University NHS Foundation Trust to support our community