Who can become a Community Responder?
A Community Responder would be between 18 and 70 years of age, physically fit, able to achieve a satisfactory standard of proficiency after training, have a full driving licence, access to a car and have a sympathetic, caring approach to people.

Responder Group Structure
Ideally each group would consist of between 10 and 15 First responders. Each group has an identified co-ordinator. Groups would meet regularly to arrange events such as;

· Fund Raising Activities
· Community Awareness Programmes i.e. local Schools, fetes, etc.
· Availability of Members for Rota planning
· Revision Training
· Case Reviews
· Social Events

Availability
Volunteers between them are able to provide one member ‘on call’ through a rota system. The rotas are agreed by the group and, although there are no minimum or maximum periods of availability for individual members, as a whole the group would ideally be expected to provide cover 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Group links into the Ambulance Service through the Ambulance Service Co-ordinator. Wherever possible, this person will be a serving member of the Ambulance Service who lives or works near to your group. This member of staff is responsible for providing support to each group and individual group members.

The Role of the Community Responder
The main responsibilities of a Community Responder are:

· To attend emergency calls in their area at the direction of the Ambulance Communications Centre and achieve, where possible, a response within 8 minutes.
· To provide appropriate treatment to patients prior to arrival of an ambulance.
· To document, record and inform attending Ambulance Crews of the history and treatment given. When required, provide continuing care under the direction of the Ambulance Crew.
· To remain at the scene of an incident until relieved by an Ambulance Crew.

Types of Calls
The Ambulance Communications Centre receives emergency calls at all times throughout the day and night. The number and nature of these calls are difficult to predict, however, it would be anticipated that a group would respond to a least one emergency call a week. Types of calls would include chest pains, breathing difficulties and collapses due to other medical problems. Some calls are considered unsuitable to send Community Responders to attend; these include maternity incidents, road traffic accidents or known violent situations.