Horsham & Southwater Community First Responders (CFR's)are volunteers who provide immediate care to those in their community who have fallen ill. The CFR's are dispatched by the South East Coast Ambulance Service.
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. The aim of the group is to provide a service 24 hours a day 365 days of the year.
The main responsibilities are:
•To attend emergency calls in their area and aim for an 8 minute response time. CFR's are not allowed to go faster than the normal speed limits when responding to calls
•To provide appropriate treament prior to the ambulance arriving
•To document, record and inform the NHS ambulance crew of the patient's condition and any treatment given
•To assist the NHS ambulance crew as instructed to
•To stay with the patient until the NHS ambulance crew have arrived and are happy for them to leave the scene