Community First Responder Now Responding In The Lenches & Surrounding Area's

Vale of Evesham Community First Responders


Who are the Vale of Evesham Community First Responders?The Vale of Evesham Community First Responders is made up of a group of volunteers who use their free time to provide emergency life support to a specific geographical area. In our case it is Pershore, Evesham, Broadway and the surrounding villages. We work closely with the West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS), and are dispatched to 999 incidents by their control team.

The purpose of a Community First Responder is to provide emergency medical care until the professional Ambulance Service arrives on scene. We do not replace the professional service, but we are able to provide necessary support and assistance until their arrival. The Vale of Evesham Community First Responders is aiming to provide 24 hours, seven days per week cover for the residents and businesses within our area. To enable us to achieve this we need to enlist new Community First Responders and the help of other supporters for fundraising.

Like all responder groups across the country, all our time is given voluntarily. The money that we need to purchase equipment, uniforms, etc. has to be raised by us through fundraising events, flag days or public and private donations.

How it all worksA 999 or 112 call is made:- the caller will firstly be transferred to a British Telecom operator, who will say to the caller "emergency which service to do you require?" If the caller asks for the ambulance service the operator will then ask the caller for the telephone number they are calling from (in case the call becomes disconnected) and transfers the call to the ambulance service control.

At the same time as the ambulance control operator receives the call a First Responder Controller receives the same information on a separate computer screen from the ambulance control operator. They contact the CFR by mobile phone and dispatch him/her to the scene.

Training All First Responders attend a training course with the West Midlands Ambulance Service. They learn how to manage patients who are not breathing, including those who may have suffered a cardiac arrest, stroke, etc. They are taught how to treat unconscious patients and a range of other potentially serious conditions.

Meetings are held each month to refresh and extend this training.  Responders are assessed after the initial training and at regular intervals thereafter.

Each responder undertakes a nationally recognized exam at the end of the training: First Person on Scene (Intermediate) IHDC – BTEC Level 2