Primarily we are here to support the Ambulance Service which is particulalrly important in a rural area such as ours. Initially our responders are trained by EMAS to "Level 2" which means responders become qualified to attend 999 calls for 12 years old and upwards, across a range of common but life threatening situations. With around 12 months experience, EMAS will train a responder to "Level 3" which means the responder is able to attend babies from a day old and upwards, to people on end of life care. Team members make themselves available to EMAS as and when time allows via an electronic rota, and contact with our dedicated desk at EMAS to confirm availability.
Whilst on call, Responders can be sent to any potentially life threatening emergency on our patch if (a) it's something we are trained to deal with and (b) we are likely to arrive before an ambulance crew or car. Sometimes we work individually, sometimes we work as a pair, it depends on individual responders and availability of the team. As a result of our experience, we and our colleagues at the Newark Fosseway team, are the only responders in South Nottinghamshire affiliated to The British Heart Foundation and authorised to deliver their "Heartstart" training in basic emergency life support. If you'd like to know more, please contact us below.