Community first responders

Our community first responders (CFRs) are volunteers who are trained by us to attend certain types of emergency calls in the area where they live or work. Their aim is to reach a potential life threatening emergency in the first vital minutes before the ambulance crew arrives.

Their role is to help stabilise the patient and provide the appropriate care until the more highly skilled ambulance crew arrives on scene to take over the treatment.

Essential info

Role type: Voluntary
Locations: All counties. Please check the list below for the areas we are currently recruiting for CFRs.
Length of training: Nationally recognised, intensive six-day training course. We offer two options for the course depending on which suits you best: three weekdays per week over two weeks OR two weekend days per week over three weekends. This is delivered though a blend of on line e-learning and face to face learning with assessments at the end of the course. There will also be ongoing learning and assessments throughout your time as a community first responders, some of this is face to face, and some of this is e-learning workbooks. The locations of the training courses are spread across the region, and on successful recruitment you will be offered the dates of courses for you to attend.

Criteria

Anyone can become a community first responder but you must:

• be physically fit
• be aged between 18-70
• agree to a disclosure and barring service check (DBS). This was previously known as criminal records bureau disclosure or CRB.
• have a sympathetic, caring nature
• agree to undertake training, which we provide
• have a full driving licence and access to a road worthy car.

Where are we are recruiting?

If you live or work in any community where we already have a community first responder group, and would like to train and volunteer as a community first responder with us, we’d love to hear from you. 

Want to join the team?

If you would like to join our community first responder team please complete our online application form by following this link

If you have any further questions you can email the team CFR@eastamb.nhs.uk

 

Community Response Strategic Delivery Plan 2019-2022

You can download our community response strategic delivery plan 2019-2022.

Hear from people already volunteering with us

Take a look at our skilled volunteers and the massive contribution they are able to make to patients around falls and the training they have to go through!

To name a few, taking blood pressures, NEWS2 and liaising with ECAT for best practice.

If you would like to contact your community partnership manager directly, please email below:

Essex
Community Response Manager, Claire Ruddy
Email: CFR@eastamb.nhs.uk

Norfolk, Waveney and East Suffolk
Community Response Manager, Peter Sefton-Smalley 
Email: CFR@eastamb.nhs.uk   

Cambridgeshire and Suffolk
Head of Community Response, Jonathan Needle
Email: CFR@eastamb.nhs.uk  

Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, West Essex and military co-responding.
Community Response Manager, Thomas Barker
Email: CFR@eastamb.nhs.uk 

Not sure who to contact?

• For all general enquiries and recruitment enquiries about CFRs, please contact the CRM team at CFR@eastamb.nhs.uk . This is a shared mailbox for the CRM team
• For all CFR training queries, please contact cfrtraining@eastamb.nhs.uk. This mailbox will be monitored by the training department.