Role
Community first responders are there to provide assistance to those with a medical emergency, and most importantly to start and maintain the chain of survival in cardiac arrest patients until a fully equipped ambulance arrives. The schemes were originally envisaged for rural areas where emergency medical services response is likely to be delayed beyond the approximate 8–10 minutes during which a cardiac arrest is likely to become irreversible. The schemes have since expanded to more populous areas, where the benefit of early intervention can still prove life saving, and the volume of people available to ambulance control assists them with meeting response time targets such as ORCON.
Examples of first responders include "co-responders" (police or fire service), members of staff of a shopping mall or other public place, members of a first aid organisation, lifeguards, community first responders, and others who have been trained to act in this capacity. Employees of the statutory ambulance services may also act as first responders whilst off-duty.
Read more about this topic: Community First Responder
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