Volunteers vital in emergency response

Volunteers in the Newark area who can reach patients before ambulances arrive attended thousands of incidents in the past year.

Around 30 people, aged 17 to 75, are signed up to the Community First Responders scheme.

Living in locations including Newark, Southwell, Collingham, Kelham and North Muskham, they often have a better chance of reaching a patient in a more isolated, rural location before an ambulance crew.

From May last year to this month, Community First Responders from both the Newark and Newark Fosseway branches attended 2,100 jobs. Combined they volunteered for 21,000 hours.

Time available to take part in the unpaid work depends on circumstances.

Often, older volunteers can be available for longer hours, while those who work will go ‘on-call’ once they have finished for the day.

Mr Anthony Belling, one of five Comm-unity First Responder co-ordinators for the East Midlands, said the volunteers dealt with a variety of calls, depending on their level of training.

“The point is that in isolated areas these responders can get out to people quickly,” he said.

“We have level two and three responders, and one level four responder, which means we can deal with incidents ranging from a cardiac arrest to allergic reactions and choking.

“We also use Terrafix phones, which allows us to see where a first responder is — so if they live in Collingham, for instance, but are shopping in Newark then they could respond to an incident in the town quickly.”

'They are there for the community first'

Mr Belling, a former bomb disposal dog handler originally from South Africa, allocates which responder goes to a particular incident.

“Since I have started in the East Midlands, we have quadrupled the number of first responders on duty,” he said.

“They normally cover a radius of around five to eight miles, but on some occasions they go further.

“That is why they call them community first responders — because they are there for the community first.

“We really value their commitment and dedication.”

Firefighters are now also part of the scheme, an addition that Mr Belling said was invaluable.

“They can deal with quite a lot of incidents and have the advantage of being able to use their blue lights and sirens,” he said.

“They only respond to life-threatening calls but they have made a massive difference.”

Mr Belling believed the first responders’ work was unaffected by political policies or the struggles within the NHS and on ambulance trusts.

“It is all voluntary, so I wouldn’t say those things have an impact on first responders at all,” he said.

Anyone who wants to become a First Responder will receive training. For more information, email community.responder@emas.nhs.uk