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Pennard Community First Responders

Introduction

What is a Community First Responder?
Why do we need Community First Responders?
How will a First Responder be trained?
How are Pennard First Responders organised?
But how does the First Responder get to the patient?
What happens after the incident?
What about the cost of all this?
But who will have the time to do this?
What if a mistake is made?
How do I get involved?

What is a Community First Responder?

A Community First Responder is a local volunteer who agrees to undertake training in order to be able to provide life saving treatment to those people within the local community who are critically injured or ill in the few minutes prior to the arrival of an ambulance.

Why do we need Community First Responders?

We know that in many medical emergencies and after accidents, people can die within the first few minutes. We also know that if certain simple but critical interventions can be performed within those first few minutes that life can be saved and disability reduced. This is especially the case for heart attacks, choking and injuries that have caused someone to lose consciousness.

Even the best ambulance service in the world cannot always get to every 999 call within the first few minutes, especially in countryside areas or large commercial complexes. There is a period of time between the 999 call being made and the ambulance arriving in which little or no emergency care takes place. This time period has been called the 'therapeutic vacuum'. We know that community-based first responders can fill this vacuum and provide essential simple treatment in those crucial first few minutes.

In recent years, advances in technology have been made, and many interventions which were previously performed only by highly trained individuals are now available to people with much less training. These include small, easy to operate 'automated external defibrillators' (AEDs) and lightweight oxygen delivery systems.

With the right training, equipment and support, Community First Responders can work alongside the Ambulance Service and provide the best pre-hospital care that is possible. The Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust provides the organisational framework within which volunteers in the community can be trained and equipped to become Community First Responders.


How will a First Responder be trained?
The Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust will provide, free of charge, specific first responder training which will cover all the skills and knowledge that a Community First Responder will need. This training will be provided by experienced trainers and will reflect the best of current first aid and emergency care practice in the UK. Each Community First Responder may have to prove that they are up to the standard by completing written and practical tests at the end of the training. They will also undergo refresher training at least once a year.

How are Pennard Community First Responders organised?
The Pennard scheme, which also covers the nearby villages of Southgate, Parkmill, Lunnon, Kittle, Bishopston and Murton, is a locally managed group of volunteers who elect a local co-ordinator and plan their own 'on-call' rota to cover their own community. Ideally, each scheme would have 24 hour cover, 365 days a year, though of course it's not possible to do this if there are only a few volunteers. A minimum of five volunteers are required in order to set up a scheme. Currently (March 2008), Pennard Community First Responders have 15 volunteers working in pairs and covering 54 hours (32%) of each week. The Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust First Responder Scheme Co-ordinator keeps in close contact with the local co-ordinator and provides training, equipment and administrative support.

Volunteers in the scheme normally communicate with each other via e-mail or by phone. They also have their own web site (http://www.pennardfr.org.uk) on which an up-to-date 'on-call' rota can be accessed at any time. It's therefore an advantage, though not essential, for any new members to be 'online'. The scheme may be able to provide a PC (not new!) at a nominal cost for new members who are currently not online.


But how does the First Responder get to the patient?
Whenever the Ambulance Service receives a 999 call from the Pennard, Southgate, Parkmill, Lunnon, Kittle, Bishopston or Murton areas which indicates a situation that is considered immediately life threatening, the Community First Responders currently 'on call' will be contacted directly. The 999 caller will be told that the Community First Responders are on the way and that they will also be backed up by an ambulance as soon as possible.

The Community First Responders will usually drive to the scene. If driving is involved, it will be under the Highway Code in the volunteers' own cars and no special dispensation will be made for breaking the law. On arrival, the Community First Responders will have all the training and equipment necessary to manage the patient in those first few critical minutes before the ambulance arrives. In many cases, the Community First Responders may not actually be required to do anything other than reassure the patient and make sure that the ambulance is able to find the location. In some circumstances however, we believe that the Community First Responders may save life. This may be as a result of simple airway opening manoeuvres, defibrillation or treating choking.

The Community First Responders will always be backed up by an ambulance.

For further information, click here and look at some of the reference topics on the Pennard Community First Responders web site.


What happens after the incident?
An important aspect of any Community First Responder Scheme is support for the volunteers and analysis of the impact of the scheme in the community. There may be times when despite all our efforts, a patient dies or has already died before help arrives. This can be distressing for everyone involved and the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust has many years of experience in helping people deal with these experiences. They recognise that dealing with an emergency situation can be stressful, especially if the patient is known to the Community First Responders. There will always be someone who can talk through the incidents and the emotions they evoke.

At each incident, the Community First Responders will record information about the interventions they performed and their effects. Critical information such as the times the Community First Responders mobilised and arrived at the scene, and the actions they took, are recorded by Ambulance Control. All of this information will be analysed by The Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust to ensure that they are providing the best possible service to the community.


What about the cost of all this?

The Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust has channelled some funds towards the setting up the Community First Responder Schemes in Wales and providing equipment and training. In addition, the British Heart Foundation has, in some cases (including Pennard's), supplied the automated external defibrillator. Some schemes have not been so lucky and have had to raise the necessary funds to buy their own equipment. It costs approximately £5000 to train and equip a group of volunteers in a scheme and there are already more than 100 First Responder schemes involving around 1500 volunteers across Wales. The Welsh Ambulance Trust First Responder Scheme website gives details of the schemes that operate in Wales. Individual volunteers and local schemes don't receive any payment and fund-raising efforts may be needed in order to support the First Responder Schemes.


But who will have the time to do this?
Statistics vary across the country and between different types of community. In general terms, there might be three life threatening 999 calls per 1000 population per year. So if a community had only 1000 people, then the actual number of times that a Community First Responder would be called is only three in a year. The Pennard volunteers receive approximately 25-30 calls per year that they are able to respond to, i.e. when somebody is on call. A brief synopsis of the calls appears on the news page. The hardest part about being a Community First Responder is being available and prepared to go when one of those calls comes in. On-call duties are usually arranged in blocks of consecutive hours (see the online rota). Some members of the Pennard scheme are on call for just 4 hours week, others for longer. The daytime duties are covered by retired members of the community while the night duties are generally covered by those who work during the day. This time commitment is not onerous. Remember - that call may be a life saved and there is no greater feeling than being responsible for having saved life.

What if a mistake is made?
The nature of the Community First Responder scheme is that local people are trained in simple and safe techniques which can be used to save life. These techniques are rarely, if ever, associated with causing harm and in true life and death situations, there is often little harm that can be done compared to doing nothing at all. All Community First Responders are trained to a high standard and will be expected to operate within a code of practice. There has never been a case of a volunteer first responder being sued for alleged mistakes during attempts to save life.

How do I get involved?
If you live in or near Pennard, Southgate, Parkmill, Lunnon, Kittle, Bishopston or Murton and you feel you'd like to become a Community First Responder please e-mail Betty our local co-ordinator. Alternatively phone her on 01792 232955 (mobile 07980 568203). Have a chat with her or leave her your contact details and she'll get back to you.

We are always looking for more volunteers in the area so if you feel you'd like to help please get in touch!

 

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Last updated on: 20/05/2010 15:11

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