Coniston First Responders
WHAT IS A COMMUNITY FIRST RESPONSE SCHEME?
A scheme made up from volunteers who live, or work, within a community or village, and trained to attend certain emergency 999 calls by Cumbria Ambulance Service NHS Trust, to provide emergency first aid, until an ambulance arrives.
WHY DO WE NEED THEM?
It was discovered that if a series of events took place, in a set sequence, a patient suffering from a heart attack stood a greater chance of survival. These events are now known as the 'Chain of Survival'
• Early Access
• Early Basic Life Support (BLS)
• Early Defibrillation
• Early Advanced Life Support
When the first three links of the 'Chain of Survival' are put into practise, by the general public, or Community First Response teams, it has been shown that survival rates can be improved to between 25-40%. Cumbria Ambulance Service NHS Trust believes that by introducing a scheme where Community First Responders are trained in providing Basic Life Support (BLS) and early defibrillation, there would be a significant improvement in the chances of surviving an out of hospital cardiac arrest.
WHO WOULD RUN THESE GROUPS?
The level of commitment required to support a CFR group is high. It would be most effective to have a self managed group of trained responders, overseen by Cumbria Ambulance Service. One or two members would be required to take on the roles of co-ordinator, while others would be required to fill committee places. The co-ordinator and committee members may fill duel rolls as responders as well, but their primary task would be to co-ordinate, assist and support the team as a whole.
WHO CAN BECOME A COMMUNITY FIRST RESPONDER ?
A Community First Responder should be 18 years of age or over, physically fit enough to be able to achieve a satisfactory standard of proficiency after training. They should have a sympathetic and caring approach to people. They should be reliable and trust worthy with a mature outlook on life. Ideally a Community First Responder should be able to drive and hold a clean driving licence. A key factor is that a first responder must be able to work together with others as part of a community team.
WHAT SORT OF INCIDENTS WOULD A COMMUNITY FIRST RESPONDER BE ASKED TO ATTEND ?
The types of Emergency calls that the responder will primarily be asked to attend are aimed at adults (age 12 plus)
• Aimed at the patient who is suffering chest pain, believed to be of cardiac origin, and who is at risk of cardiac arrest
• Patients who are in cardiac arrest
• Patients who are unconscious from unknown origin
• Patients who are choking
• Patients who have been victims of drowning
These types of calls are classed as medical emergencies, and can happen both at home and in public places. It must be appreciated that Community First Responders attending such incidents may be exposed to both visual and emotional circumstances.
ARE THERE ANY EMERGENCIES THAT A COMMUNITY FIRST RESPONDER WOULD NOT BE ASKED TO GO TO?
Yes. The Community First Responder will not be asked to attend Trauma calls, such as Road Traffic Accidents (RTA), known violent situations, or other such dangerous emergencies.
WILL AN AMBULANCE ALWAYS BE SENT TO THE SAME EMERGENCY ?
Yes, as a matter of course, an emergency Ambulance will be despatched first to the incident, before the Community First Response team is activated.
WILL THERE BE ANY SUPPORT AFTER DEALING WITH A SERIOUS INCIDENT ?
Yes. Following all serious call outs, the group co-ordinator should be informed, and potentially a group meeting held to allow for a debrief, and if required, an Ambulance Service representative may be present. If afterward, a responder feels that they may need more support or help a designated Ambulance Service representative will be informed and will make any necessary arrangements.
HOW WILL THE RESPONDERS BE CALLED OUT?
The 'On Call' responders will be activated by Cumbria Ambulance Service Control via pagers, or another such
WILL TRAINING BE PROVIDED?
It is important that Community First Responders have training to be able to deal with the types of emergencies that the will be asked to attend. Training can be tailored to individual groups needs, but as standard the training will consist of three or four sessions lasting approximately 2-2½hours. After successful completion of the initial training, it will be necessary, to ensure skills are maintained, for team members to attend regular, ongoing, training sessions.
WHO DO I CONTACT FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ?
Chairman – Ian Kelly
Secretary – Peter Hill
Treasurer – Graham Aldridge
We need 20 people to run the scheme. Please volunteer as a fund- raiser or a supporter if you do not wish to attend incidents.
Once we have a team and a machine and pagers, we will need to continue to generate funds to pay for the maintenance of things. You could make an important contribution just by showing interest.
The Main Cumbria Ambulance Service site: