People who don't want to leave saving lives to others

The Community First Responders scheme stems from a government white paper entitled Saving Lives, Our Healthier Nation, which stressed that when someone collapses with a heart attack, quick access to defibrillation is of vital importance.

As a result of that, the British Heart Foundation got together with ambulance services to set up a scheme which would train and equip volunteers.

These volunteers are trained by the ambulance service to a nationally-recognised level, and are therefore able to provide life-saving treatments like cardio-pulmonary resuscitation, defibrillation and other techniques for various emergency situations.

One such scheme was set up covering Herefordshire and Worcestershire in 2004, and since then it has trained 200 volunteers, in both rural and built-up areas.

The volunteers are trained and issued with emergency kits, and when they are on duty can expect to be called if a medical emergency occurs near where they are. They then begin life-saving procedures, buying precious time while the ambulance crews race to the scene.

Peter Binney, the area manager for Malvern and Worcester, said: "Minutes save lives. The sooner a defibrillator is used, the better chance a patient has of surviving. After a patient has collapsed following a heart attack and has entered ventricular fibrillation, every minute that a defibrillator is not used, the chances of survival reduce by 10 per cent. This is where a community first responder can save lives."

So what kind of person becomes a community first responder? "We have a real cross-section of people," said Peter. "We've got housewives to accountants, court ushers to retired people, like myself. I wanted to do something useful in retirement, to give something back to the community, and this was it.

"It doesn't matter what walk of life you come from, as long as you feel you can cope calmly in an emergency situation. You also have to be good with people, because when you're treating someone, you need to get information about them, such as their medical history, if they're in any state to give it to you, and pass it on to the ambulance crews when they turn up."

After someone volunteers, he or she is given an informal interview, and if they are accepted, the next step is training, which takes place across five weekends. Then they take part in observation shifts with the ambulance service, to see what life is like at the sharp end, before going active.

One who is in just that position is mother-of-two Anita Farrer of West Malvern, who is just waiting for her medical kit to arrive before she becomes a fully-fledged community first responder. The defibrillator in the kit will have been paid for by a £2,000 grant from Malvern-based Westbridge Foods.

She said: "I think it's a brilliant scheme. The training was really interesting and I'm looking forward to becoming active, although I'm really dreading my first call-out. My husband has been very supportive and my children think it's really cool."

If you are interested on becoming a community first responder yourself. contact Noel Orbell of the West Midlands Ambulance Service on 07980 094808 or noel.orbell@wmas.nhs.uk, or Peter Binney on 07855310234. or come along to the next informal meeting, on Tuesday, April 19, at 7.30pm at the Brunswick Arms, Malvern Road, St Johns, Worcester.