But how many people around you can recognise the signs of a cardiac arrest and have the skillset to carry out CPR? The answer is – not enough. Every minute without CPR and defibrillation reduces the chance of survival by 7 – 10%.
At creating lifesavers, we talk about the ‘Chain of Survival’ which is a 4-step process – Early Access, Early CPR, Early Defibrillation and Early Advanced Care. This requires people around the ‘patient’ to recognise the signs of a cardiac arrest, to be skilled in the art of CPR and to have a defibrillator in the vicinity. That is why it is our mission to create a UK wide army of life savers – community first responders who can act immediately when someone is undertaking a cardiac arrest.
Community First Responders (CFR’s) work directly with their local ambulance service. The ambulance service is split down by regions so each region trains and coordinates their CFR’s. The core training for the CFR’s is the Level 3 Certificate for Ambulance Service First Responders. They also undertake Continuous Professional Development sessions and attend a variety of medical and trauma calls.
Anyone can become a CFR providing they are fit, have the required training, and have access to a vehicle. After passing the application and assessment centre process, applicants will be required to undertake the required online pre-learning and an initial full-time six-day training course. They also need to complete a minimum of 32 hours consolidation (within the first two months) as an additional person on shifts.
Community first Responders are volunteers. They do not get paid for their service and do not receive expenses. The cost of training varies from region to region but typically the induction course costs the CFR £30 with the 6-day course costing up to £500 per person.
At creating lifesavers we are looking for sponsors to help people to train to be Community First Responders – why should these people who are potentially saving lives have to pay for their own training? We advocate that the local community should be doing more to fund this cost.
If you are interested in becoming a Community First Responder, contact your local ambulance service or the St. Johns Ambulance service.
