Wilberfoss Community First Responders are volunteers who provide immediate life-saving care to members of their local communities in an emergency medical situation, such as heart attack, breathing difficulties or a collapse, in the vital minutes before the ambulance arrives.
They are trained in Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and the use of an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) which delivers a controlled electric shock to restart the heart. First Responders also carry portable oxygen. - More than 260,000 people suffer a heart attack in the UK each
year, about a third of whom die before reaching hospital due to cardiac
arrest. A cardiac arrest most often occurs as a result of a heart
attack, when the heart is starved of oxygen. Cardiac arrests cause the
heart either to quiver, known as fibrillation, or stop beating
altogether. The defibrillators carried by Community First Responders
work by delivering a controlled electric shock through the chest wall
to the heart to restore a normal heartbeat after a cardiac arrest. The
faster this treatment is delivered, the better the outcome for the
patient.
- Community First Responders can also administer oxygen and are
trained in basic life support skills, which could be invaluable in the
minutes before the ambulance arrives. All Responders carry Yorkshire
Ambulance Service ID cards and may attend patients with chest pain or
difficulty breathing and patients who are unconscious or who have
collapsed.
- When an emergency call is received at the Ambulance Communication
Centre, an ambulance or Rapid Response Vehicle is dispatched as soon as
possible. At the same time a Community First Responder, on-call in the
area, can be alerted with the relevant details and asked to assist at
the 999 incident.
Our team here in Wilberfoss maintain an on-call schedule of available volunteers, holding all necessary equipment to assist in a emergency situation.
Wilberfoss First Responders
Community First Responders help save lives
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