Community First Responders (CFRs) are NHS Ambulance Service trained individuals, from all walks of life, who volunteer their time for free. They attend 999/111 emergency calls in their own community. In the East Midlands, Community First Responders are dispatched by the East Midlands Ambulance Service Emergency Operations Centre in the same way as an ambulance or other clinical personnel.
Because Community First Responders live in the local community, they can often arrive at the scene of the emergency much faster than an ambulance. If they arrive first on scene, Community First Responders can provide assessment and treatment for the patient before the arrival of an ambulance. Depending on their level of qualification, they can attend both paediatric as well as adult emergencies and give pain relieving gas/air or other prescription only medication,
Community first responders are there to provide assistance to those with a medical emergency, and most importantly to start and maintain the chain of survival in cardiac arrest patients until a fully equipped ambulance arrives. All CFRs carry automatic external defibrillators.
Who are the Chesterfield Community First Responders?
Chesterfield Community First Responders is a recognised charity (registration pending) set up specifically to serve residents of Chesterfield and nearby areas. As a charity, we rely on donations from the public to allow us to continue doing what we do. This is because CFR schemes and volunteers have to fund their own medical equipment, kit bags, defibrillators and even uniform. The only thing provided by the NHS is consumable items such as single use resuscitation devices and oxygen supply. On average, it costs the charity around £2000-£2,500 to fully kit one of our CFRs to be fully prepared to respond to 999/111 calls. Aside from kit costs, we have to pay for storage to house all of our training equipment and, at some point, we would like to raise enough money to put another pool car out on the road, allowing us to respond to more calls.
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