VOLUNTEERS PROVIDING EMERGENCY MEDICAL SUPPORT TO THE COMMUNITY
henfield area response team (hart)
Volunteers providing emergency medical support to the Community
WHAT WE DO
Rapid response is often vital
First Responders are required to attend 999 emergency calls in their area, but are never called to road traffic accidents, childbirth or gynaecological issues, or calls which may involve violence or disorder. The calls passed to First Responders are 999 calls which the Ambulance Service deem to be “serious and/or life-threatening” needing medical help to arrive as quickly as possible - usually within the first eight minutes from the 999 call being made.
Our First Responders are already living or working in the community so can often respond to the call more promptly. This is when lives can sometimes be saved – and it has been proved that patients’ chances of recovery are significantly increased. More than 70% of sudden cardiac arrest cases happen out of hospital and another 10-15% occur at work, so it is unlikely that an ambulance will be on scene straight away.
First Responders can often get to the patient more quickly and are able to give basic life-saving support until the ambulance arrives and it is in this immediate timeslot that treatment could make all the difference, especially in rural areas where it is not always possible for the ambulance to reach the patient straight away due to volume of calls, traffic hold-ups or remote locations. HART First Responders carry defibrillators which can be a vital advantage when sudden cardiac arrest strikes.
Over 110,000 people die every year in the UK from heart attacks and the chance of survival
decreases by between 7-10% with every minute that passes after a patient’s heart has
stopped beating. Early defibrillation can be the key to successful resuscitation.
Of those who survive sudden cardiac arrests:
First Responders are required to attend 999 emergency calls in their area, but are never called to road traffic accidents, childbirth or gynaecological issues, or calls which may involve violence or disorder. The calls passed to First Responders are 999 calls which the Ambulance Service deem to be “serious and/or life-threatening” needing medical help to arrive as quickly as possible - usually within the first eight minutes from the 999 call being made.
Our First Responders are already living or working in the community so can often respond to the call more promptly. This is when lives can sometimes be saved – and it has been proved that patients’ chances of recovery are significantly increased. More than 70% of sudden cardiac arrest cases happen out of hospital and another 10-15% occur at work, so it is unlikely that an ambulance will be on scene straight away.
First Responders can often get to the patient more quickly and are able to give basic life-saving support until the ambulance arrives and it is in this immediate timeslot that treatment could make all the difference, especially in rural areas where it is not always possible for the ambulance to reach the patient straight away due to volume of calls, traffic hold-ups or remote locations. HART First Responders carry defibrillators which can be a vital advantage when sudden cardiac arrest strikes.
Over 110,000 people die every year in the UK from heart attacks and the chance of survival
decreases by between 7-10% with every minute that passes after a patient’s heart has
stopped beating. Early defibrillation can be the key to successful resuscitation.
Of those who survive sudden cardiac arrests:
- 83% survive for at least one year
- 57% survive for five years or longer