Why did you become a Community First Responder?
I live in a rural area at the southern tip of the West Midlands Ambulance coverage. Our ambulance response times can be challenging, so our town has a Community First Responders (CFR) scheme. Volunteers trained by the ambulance service can reach the scene within minutes to assess the situation and deliver lifesaving treatment if required. We primarily respond to Category 1 and 2 calls, the most serious incidents where a fast response makes the most difference.
Tell me a little bit about your role as a CFR
We are volunteers operating under West Midlands Ambulance NHS Trust. Each scheme is a registered charity and raises its own funding. We have strong community support, allowing us to provide almost continuous cover with around 10 CFRs and additional team members for fundraising, public engagement and defibrillator management.
To become a CFR, we apply through NHS Jobs, undergo a six-day intensive training course, and join our local scheme. We start as a buddy to a mentor and, once competent, operate on our own with team backup. Training continues with annual updates and monthly sessions.
We do 12-hour shifts from home, deployed by the Trust’s Emergency Operations Centre. We have two scheme cars funded by the community and carry a wide range of equipment. The role involves lifesaving skills and first aid, making a huge difference for patients and their families.
You are the Guardian for all Shipston First Responders. What does this involve and how do you use The Circuit to manage your defibrillators?
Our scheme recognises the potential of public defibrillators in the local chain of survival. Some defibrillators were not rescue ready or registered with The Circuit. We took on the project to get as many sites rescue ready as possible. My technical support skills helped set up a programme for onboarding, servicing and maintaining public defibrillators. We currently manage 58 sites and aim to grow to eighty.
We provide CPR and defibrillator training to community groups. The Circuit supports us with a group account to record checks, activations, and manage support guardians. We use data to identify sites needing support and areas for new installations. The Circuit team has been instrumental in our project.
We are now identifying villages without public defibrillators and updating older equipment. The Circuit’s data, combined with census data, helps prioritise locations.
What has been the impact in your community?
In 2024, we had 25 activations of public defibrillators for cardiac arrest or peri-arrest. Our team supports public defibrillators, responding to activations with spare equipment to get sites back online quickly.
The Circuit has been invaluable in our project. It provides vital information, a standard to measure progress, and a tool to help us. Registering defibrillators and recording checks ensures they are available for deployment. Seeing a public defibrillator in use by someone we’ve trained gives the patient the best chance of survival.