The Andover Community First Responders are a local group which Venture are very proud to support

“A responder is a member of the public, trained by the ambulance service, who volunteers to help in their community by responding to medical emergencies before the arrival of an emergency ambulance”

First Responders are trained by qualified instructors from the South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) NHS Foundation Trust in the use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs), oxygen therapy and how to assist with a wide range of potentially life threatening conditions such as heart attack and asthma.

Evidence suggests that in cases of cardiac arrest, for every minute that goes by without defibrillation a patient's chances of survival decrease by 10%.

First Responders originated in America from the work of Dr Richard Cummins, who developed The Chain of Survival:

1. Early Access:

Somebody has to witness the event and dial the emergency services immediately.

2. Early CPR:

CPR must be carried out right away, this can extend the time a person in cardiac arrest is able to recover by supplying oxygenated blood to vital organs until their heart can be re-started.

3. Early Defibrillation:

In a lot of cardiac arrest victims, the heart goes into ventricular fibrillation (VF), this is where the heart muscles are contracting too fast and they lose their rhythm. Defibrillation by shocking the heart causes the heart muscles to "reset" themselves and start beating in rhythm again. This is the single most important link in the chain when the other links are all in place.

4. Early ACLS:

Early advanced cardiac life support is provided by the ambulance crew on arrival, although this is a very important link in the chain if the patient is to recover, it has limited effect if earlier links in the chain are not in place.

By developing groups of Community Responders who are trained to provide the first three events in this chain, there should be a significant improvement in the survival rates in cases of cardiac arrest.

All the equipment required is funded by the SCAS NHS Foundation Trust. The schemes are run as a charity and local groups are encouraged to fund raise within their community in order to contribute to the charity funds and to buy additional equipment, supporting the scheme as a whole.

SCAS are always on the lookout for new Community Responders. If you don't fancy the idea of actually attending an emergency situation, groups always need organisers, fundraisers and volunteers who are willing to help in other capacities.