Community Responders (CFR's) are volunteers who provide immediate care to the local community.
Community First Responders (CFR's) are volunteers who provide immediate care to those in their community who have fallen ill or are injured. The CFR's are dispatched by the South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb) but are completely independant from the ambulance service and are not funded by them.
CFR's are trained to attend emergency calls received by the Ambulance Service, and give life-saving care in the minutes up to when the ambulance arrives.
Why the community needs usProviding fast medical aid.
Why do we need Community First Responders?
Dr Richard Cummins, from Seattle, discovered that heart attack victims stand a greater chance of survival if the following events take place:
-Early Access
-Early Resuscitation
-Early Defibrillation
-Early Advanced Life Support
This is know as the Chain of Survival
CFR's are trained in providing the first three of these events. Taking these actions can increase the pre-hospital survival rate to between 20-40%
Our impact on the communityThe following are the number of calls attended by Horsham Community Responders:
2012 to February - 78
2011 - 492
2010 - 481
Who Can Join?
To volunteer as a responder you need to:
-Live in the local area
-Be over age 21
-Be fit to practice
-Pass a criminal records bureau (CRB) check
-Attend regular training and meetings
-Have your own transport
-Be able to attend a 2 day training course and assessment
-Be able to go triple-crewing with a local ambulance crew