What are first responders?

Community First Responder (CFR) Groups work with the North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust (NWAS) across the region and respond to emergency calls in addition to ambulances. They can administer life support to patients while awaiting the arrival of an ambulance as they are trained to deliver basic life support and defibrillation to patients in cardiac arrest. They are also trained to attend a range of conditions where they can administer oxygen and first aid and play a reassurance role for the patient in advance of the ambulance arriving.

CFRs are activated by NWAS to attend certain emergency calls where time can make the difference between life and death. A CFR will attend to an incident under normal road speed. First Responders will not be sent to incidents considered dangerous, such as an assault or road traffic accidents.

The calls we go to include:

Cardiac arrest	Injury	Asthma
Heart attacks/ angina	Falls	Diabetic incidents
Chest pains	Bleeds	Strokes
Difficulty in breathing	Drowning
	Hangings
	Broken bones

We are NOT called to road accidents, patients under 12 nor to incidents where we might be put in danger.