The company Steve works for - when he’s not up a hill somewhere - is a multi national affair and has three offices here in the UK alone. There are offices all over the world but he’s just interested in the UK ones (for now at least). Thing is, he’s managed to persuade my boss to come with him and visit the other two offices so they can meet up with the staff they talk to on the phone almost every night. The BIG bosses are quite keen and the company has pledged its backing and even made an offer of some cash for the two charities he supports. The plan is, they both fly from Heathrow to Glasgow to meet the staff there, travel on down to Teesside to see them, finishing with a trip back to Reading where they both work. That’s the challenge, and we think it’s a great way to raise some funds and some awareness for two worthwhile causes.

Oh! I almost forgot! When they get to the airport in Glasgow and have waved goodbye to the plane, the rest of their journey is on foot as they shall be walking from there back to Reading via Teesside, all 459.6 miles of it. He said it was a long way down. Want to join us?

So, please have a look at the site and think about using it when making your present purchases.

Firstly you don’t have to have had any previous First Aid Training or experience at all, although if you are a member of St John Ambulance or Red Cross or you have even got a First Aid at Work Certificate this always give you a heads up.

Your initial training of 2 evenings and 1 full day plus regular monthly updates are supplied by South Central Ambulance Service free of charge. As a responder you have to attend at least one update training session every three months. This is important and helps you stay in touch with other members from other groups and keeps you updated with new techniques. It also gives you a chance to practice your skills on manikins on a regular basis. Where possible you should try to attend each month especially if you haven’t been very “active”.

Our Defibrillator is probably the most important and most expensive part of our kit.

Our Response Kit is packed full of Medical Supplies and Equipment that we use when treating patients.
As our primary role is to treat patients with life threatening conditions such as Cardiac Arrest, Heart attack, Breathing difficulties, Epilepsy and much more, our Response Kit reflects this and so we only carry the Equipment we need to do deal with these kind of medical conditions.
Oxygen is carried within the kit bag in the form of a Oxygen Cylinder. As most of us know Oxygen is the major gas within the atmosphere we inhale when breathing in, about 21% when inhaling so when someone is struggling to breath, giving the patient up to 100% Oxygen via a face mask can be life saving. Oxygen can aid recovery from the very minute a responder or ambulance crew arrive on scene, so it is vital we carry this equipment.
As well as Oxygen and Face masks, we carry various sizes of oro-pharyngeal (OP) airways. These airways are used to help maintain a clear airway on the unconscious casualty.
Suction is also carried as part of our kit. Suction is used to help keep bodily fluids clear of the airway.
Part of our life saving response kit is a Bag and Mask. A Bag and Mask is designed for the purpose of assisting a patient with breathing, whether it be Cardiac Arrest or a patient that isn’t breathing enough for themselves. By hooking the bag and mask up to a Oxygen supply we can give our patients 100% Oxygen whilst breathing for them.

Community Responder schemes across Berkshire are split up into seperate local groups. Depending on where you live depends on which group you would become part of.

Each Community Responder Group is made up of volunteers who live in the local area to each group. These volunteers are dispatched by the South Central Ambulance Control to Life threatening emergencys via Mobile Phone.

Once dispatched, the volunteer is on scene in a very short space of time and proceeds to give vital First Aid and Basic Life Support until the regular emergency ambulance arrives. If the ambulance is already on scene on arrival the volunteer will back the crew up helping to stabilized the patient until the crew do not need you on scene anymore.

Pre-Application Requirements
A prospective Community Responder can come from all walks of life. No prior First Aid knowledge is required as all training will be given to a level to carry out his or her duties. Candidates who hold a recognized First Aid Certificate will be trained in the areas needed to complete their knowledge. There will still be a requirement to demonstrate competence by practical and written assessment. Full background checks including a CRB check will be made on prospective candidates.

Training
The training will allow Candidates to learn about, practice with, and demonstrate competence in administering appropriate First Aid and Defibrillation to a casualty. They will be required to demonstrate competence in all core subject areas via multi-choice question papers and test scenarios with oral questioning. There will also be a driving assessment.

In addition, Candidates will be required to spend a shift with an Ambulance crew.

Responding
Once qualified, Candidates will join a team appropriate to the area that they will be covering. Each team has its own equipment and it is the Responder’s duty to familiarize him/herself with it. Initially the Responder may ‘buddy up’ with a more experienced Responder whilst he or she builds up experience and confidence. Full support is provided, either through the rest of the team, the team co-ordinator or the appropriate on-call RBAT Staff member. Following an emergency, it is likely that a debrief will occur to allow the Responder to talk through any issues arising.

Other Important Comments
Responders are expected to respond within a 5 minute driving radius. Driving will be at normal speeds, obeying all traffic laws. Responders get no exemptions. Remember it is better to arrive late, than not at all.
Responders must not lift casualties and no manual handling training is given.
All Responders will be required to participate in an on-going training program, which will include re-assessment of Basic Life Support and AED skills.

As a Team its very important to build on our member base and have social contact with other members of our group. We hold regular meetings for our members to socialize and to discuss such topics as fund raising, rota’s, and how to raise our public profile. Members are not obliged to attend as they are volunteers but are asked to attend as these meetings are an important part of our success.

If you wish to get involved or just want to find out more information about becoming a Community Responder then please fill out our Contact Form.

As Community Responders we are trained by the NHS but are completely self funded.  We are only able to operate on the donations of local businesses and the community support.

If you feel you are about to join our ranks and help your local community or if you are a business who is able to sponsor us then please get in touch.

In order for our area to provide the best possible care we need equipment and people. We would love to provide 24×7 cover in order to assist the Ambulance Service and with your help we can.

All businesses who sponsor us will be listed on the website in our sponsors area on the website and in our publications.

If you have any questions or want to support us please feel free to contact us.