We are not a substitute for qualified ambulance crews, but as we respond from our homes we are often able to arrive on scene of an emergency within a very short time. This then allows us to provide vital first aid before the ambulance arrives, which may increase a patients chance of making a full recovery.

Since January 2010 over 430 patients have benefited from the intervention of community first responders in the Medway area, this equates to us attending an average of 50 calls per month.  Our 15 strong team come from a variety of backgrounds most of whom undertake regular day jobs responding to emergencies in their spare time.

When we are booked on, we receive alerts via a text system from SECAmb control and respond to incidents within 3 miles of our homes in our own unmarked cars.  We have no lights or sirens and have to abide by speed limits and the highway code just as any other driver.  We are only dispatched on calls where we are closer to a patient's address than the nearest available ambulance.

As community responders, we attend regular meetings and training sessions, to learn new skills and to ensure our basic skills are kept up to date. We are also required to pass both written and practical assessments every year to ensure that our basic skills are up to scratch.

As well as responding to emergency calls in our local area, we also devote a great deal of time to fundraising, to fund any new equipment we need.  This may be updating the kit we already have, or providing new kits for new responders who wish to join our group.

A few examples of the types of calls that we attend include:

• Chest pains
• Breathing difficulties
• Allergic reactions
• Fitting patients
• Strokes
• Cardiac arrest
• Respiratory arrest
• Unconscious patients