We are a small but ever expanding team of dedicated volunteers who attend medical emergencies on behalf of South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb).

In an ideal world, every time someone in Crawley dials 999 for a medical emergency, an ambulance would be available and close enough to attend within minutes. Unfortunately this is not always possible. In the event of receiving an emergency call and having no available or nearby ambulance to dispatch SECAmb will call upon a Community First Responder to attend the emergency.

 

The Chain of Survival

We are trained to administer treatment for many immediately life-threatening conditions and most importantly, because we are all Crawley residents, we can be with our patients within the valuable first minutes after they become ill or injured. We are a particularly significant resource for SECAmb to draw upon when they receive a 999 call for a patient who has suffered a sudden cardiac arrest.

Thirty years ago, it was discovered that if a series of events took place, in a set sequence, a patient suffering from a heart attack stood a greater chance of survival. These events are now known as the 'Chain of Survival'.

The chance of surving a cardiac arrest decreases by 20% for each minute that passes by without the electric shock (defibrillation) needed to restart the heart. As CFR's we can often be with the casualty in less than 3 minutes and deliver the life-saving shock needed to give them a fighting chance of survival.