We held a fantastic PPG meeting on 2nd March with special guests ; Peter Ralph. Peter is part of a first response unit which operates alongside the ambulance service; Community First Responders.
Community First responders are volunteers and are on call for 200 hours a year. After successfully completing East Midlands Ambulance Service training, these amazing volunteers are mentored and co-work until they are ready to work solo. There is a current pilot with Allestree (to Include Darley) to test SMART phone responders, this will hopefully mean more Community First Responders can be recruited.
The pilot will commence in May. A high proportion of calls during the night are from people who suffer falls and are unable to get up. It is hoped that Community First Responders will be able to take these calls; freeing up the ambulance service to deal with life threatening emergencies. After 6 months, if this has been successful, it will be rolled out into Derby City.
Take a look at the equipment First Responders carry. A big thank you to these brilliant volunteers!
