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NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF COMMUNITY FIRST
RESPONDERS (NACFR)
PRESENTER – ROGER THAYNE OBE
SUPPORTED BY: DUNCAN PARSONAGE SR Para
JOHN DAVIES CFR & GOVERNOR WMAS
COMMUNITY FIRST RESPONSE
AIM OF PRESENTATION
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To explain to members of the National
Ambulance Service Responders Managers
Forum the “ raison d’etre” for the formation
of the National Association of Community First
Responders (NACFR) to establish a climate of
cooperation between the two organisation.
COMMUNITY FIRST RESPONSE
SCOPE OF PRESENTATION
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The Founding of Community First Response in UK:
■  What were the original Community First Responders designed to
do?
■  Who were they accountable to?
■  How were they trained and equipped?
Systems Approach to Fast Response/Saving Lives.
The Results of the NACFR FOI requests for information about CFRs.
Why was NACFR formed and Answers to Questions posed by NASRMF.
Summary
Questions.
COMMUNITY FIRST RESPONSE
THE FIRST FIRST RESPONDER IN
STAFFORDSHIRE– 1994/5
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Neil Phillips, from the East End of London, who was an Ambulance
Technician at Uttoxeter when that Station was closed.
His wife had been diagnosed with terminal cancer and he was
allowed to respond from home using an old ambulance white van.
Within months of his deployment we noticed that 999 calls in
Uttoxeter had increased but ambulance journeys nearly halved.
Uttoxeter Rotary collected £15K from the public in a matter of
weeks to provide Neil with a new car!!
Ambulance First Responders were then established in other
market towns wherever Stations were being closed.
COMMUNITY FIRST RESPONSE
THE FOUNDING OF COMMUNITY FIRST RESPONSE
IN UK
1998 IN THORNECOMBE WEST DORSET
1999 IN WETTON & ALSTONFIELDS IN THE
STAFFORDSHIRE MOORLANDS
COMMUNITY FIRST RESPONSE
WHAT WERE THE ORIGINAL COMMUNITY FIRST RESPONDERS
IN STAFFORDSHIRE DESIGNED TO DO?
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To prevent death, unnecessary suffering and deterioration
in a patients condition until the arrival of the Ambulance
Service response.
To encourage as many persons as possible in their
Community to learn how to deliver CPR and stop bleeding.
To carry out any other tasks their Communities requested
them to do e.g. answering pendant alerts, assisting with
the handling and lifting of patients, provision of social and
community care.
COMMUNITY FIRST RESPONSE
EARLY DEFIBRILLATION
Potential for Survival
4 minutes Vs 8 minutes
Response by first responder
Response by ambulance
4 min
8 min
WHO WERE COMMUNITY FIRST RESPONDERS
ACCOUNTABLE TO
Their Community which had provided their funding
and had formally agreed to their establishment.
n  Their local Parish Councils and through them their
established Local Authority.
n  The Charity Commission for Governance.
n  The local Ambulance Trust for clinical governance
and training.
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COMMUNITY FIRST RESPONSE
HOW WERE THEY TRAINED AND EQUIPPED?
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Trained to the same clinical protocols as Ambulance Service
Emergency Medical Technicians.
Equipped with the same medical equipment, gasses, drugs as found
within a front line emergency ambulance.
Also had a response vehicle which was usually a 4wd with stretcher
top fitted, marked as an ambulance vehicle and fitted with blue lights
and sirens!!
Handheld and portable radios, pagers and mobile telephones.
All had to be paid for by the CFR Groups although none ever had
difficulty raising the funds.
COMMUNITY FIRST RESPONSE
SYSTEMS APPROACH
FAST RESPONSE AND SAVING LIVES
COMMUNITY FIRST RESPONSE
RE-ORGANISATION OF THE EMERGENCY
AMBULANCE SERVICE – SYSTEMS APPROACH
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Community First Response – within 4 minutes.
Community Paramedics in Estate Cars to reinforce CFRs.
Emergency Ambulance response for those patients needing
hospital treatment or further investigation.
Community Paramedics to provide additional treatments and
advanced skills, general management and prevention of
unnecessary admission.
Telemedicine directed from a Doctor based in Ambulance
Control.
RADIUS OF ACTION - MILES
15
AMBULANCE CREW
COMMUNITY
PARAMEDIC OFFICER
6
COMMUN ITY FIRST
RESPONDER
2
0
2
4
6
8
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12
14
16
DEPLOYMENT FOR
RURAL AREAS
NORTH
STAFFORDSHIRE
COMMUNITY
FIRST
RESPONDER
COMMUNITY
PARAMEDIC
OFFICER
AMBULANCE
NACFR SURVEY OF UK COMMUNITY FIRST
RESPONSE
JANUARY TO FEBRUARY 2015
COMMUNITY FIRST RESPONSE
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST TO
ALL UK AMBULANCE NHS TRUSTS/SERVICES
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“Could you please provide me with digital copies of your current
publications relevant to your Ambulance/Community First
Responder Scheme for example:
■  Volunteer Agreement.
Protocols for deployment, training and treatment of patients.
■  List of approved, equipment, gasses and drugs. First
Responder Strategy.
I am collecting this data for the National Association of Community
First Response (NACFR). “
COMMUNITY FIRST RESPONSE
RESULTS OF CFR SURVEY
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Only 3 Services provided evidence of training and equipping CFRs above FPOS 1
level or equivalent.
Only WMAS “enhanced CFRs” were allowed to use parenteral medicines that all
UK citizens could use to save life e.g. Adrenaline, Glucagon but WMAS did not
allow the use of Naloxone.
All were directly controlled and managed by Ambulance Services with little
evidence of involvement or accountability to local Communities or elected
representatives.
All restricted the emergencies which CFRs could attend, in particular, pediatrics,
RTAs, maternity and mental health incidents.
None appeared to have any arrangements to directly return funding gained from
response to CFRs.
COMMUNITY FIRST RESPONSE
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF COMMUNITY FIRST
RESPONDERS (NACFR)
A BRIEF INTRODUCTION AND ANSWERS TO
QUESTIONS RAISED BY NASRMF
COMMUNITY FIRST RESPONSE
INTRODUCTION
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This Association has been established by a small
number of volunteers, most of whom have had
extensive experience in first responding to
emergency medical calls and all of whom are
passionate about the need for First Responder
Schemes in our Community to prevent loss of life or
unnecessary suffering prior to the arrival of the
emergency services.
COMMUNITY FIRST RESPONSE
REASON FOR NACFR – Question one
– The Purpose?
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These original Trustees believe that there
should be a national organization to reflect
the views of the Community First Responder
Groups throughout the UK to ensure that
there are few unnecessary barriers which
reduce the support that they are able to
provide for their Communities.
COMMUNITY FIRST RESPONSE
MY HOPES FOR COMMUNITY RESPONDERS
THROUGH NACFR IN THE FUTURE
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That it helps those CFR Groups, who wished to do so, return to the
founding principles of establishment, accountability, comprehensive
training and equipment.
That it recognises that it is for Communities to decide the level of
emergency, urgent or routine support they wish volunteers in their
Communities to provide.
That it recognises that it is for the Emergency and relevant Public
Services to provide advice and training and not to manage or
control such volunteers.
COMMUNITY FIRST RESPONSE
CURRENT TRUSTEES
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The Trustees see themselves purely as the
founders of the Association and expect that, once
membership of the Association grows and
represents CFR Groups throughout the UK, then it
will be for those members to appoint the
Associations Trustees or Board of Directors and to
agree the Aim, Charter and Rules and Regulations
of the Association which is a registered Charity.
COMMUNITY FIRST RESPONSE
NACFR PROGRESS TO DATE –
QUESTION 2?
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Recruited Trustees – includes 2 ex Ambulance Trust CEOs.
President of the CFOA, 3 CFRs, Paramedic CFR Manager,
owner of a EMS Supply Company, Marketing Exec.
Established NACFR as a Charity – registered number
1160522.
Established a website nacfr.org.uk
Recruited 200 members.
COMMUNITY FIRST RESPONSE
PROJECTS THAT NACFR IS INVOLVED IN –
QUESTION 3
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Establishing NACFR as a Charity.
Determination of NACFR Strategy.
Working with Pearsons to improve and update FPOS.
FOI Survey of NHS Ambulance Trust Community First Response
Strategy, Policy, Training, Equipment and Incident Response.
Talking with individuals and Groups/Organisations wishing to work
with NACFR – CFOA, CPME, SECAMB, College of Paramedics.
COMMUNITY FIRST RESPONSE
OUR OBJECTIVES AND HOW THEY MIGHT
DIFFER/LINK WITH YOURS – QUESTION 4
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The relief of sickness and the preservation of health
among people residing permanently or temporarily in
England and Wales by the creation and support of
community first response schemes to provide, for public
benefit, a rapid life sustaining first response to emergency
situations.
To advance the education of the general public in all areas
relating to emergency life support and defibrillation in the
rapid treatment of life threatening emergency conditions.
COMMUNITY FIRST RESPONSE
OUR OBJECTIVES AND HOW THEY MIGHT
DIFFER/LINK WITH YOURS – QUESTION 4
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Major difference is that NACFR is not seeking to limit
Community First Response to Ambulance 999 response.
We believe that CFRs, with authority from the public they
support through the elected representatives, should be
trained and able to respond to any incident they are
requested to attend by people within their Community in
addition to the Emergency Services.
NASRMF is limited to the Ambulance Service and covers
more responders than CFRs.
COMMUNITY FIRST RESPONSE
WERE YOU AWARE OF OUR FORUM AND WHAT WAS THE REASON YOU
DID NOT ENGAGE WITH US DURING YOUR SET UP AND LAUNCH?
- QUESTION 5
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We were well aware of your Forum.
We had an early invitation to meet with you which we
readily and happily accepted.
In the meantime we have been aware of some
correspondence from some of your members which has
appeared to spread false rumours about or appear
antagonistic to NACFR.
We therefore considered that the meeting today was the
best forum in which to communicate with you.
COMMUNITY FIRST RESPONSE
ARE YOU AWARE OF THE PROJECTS WE ARE
ENGAGED WITH? – QUESTION 6
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No.
Nothing relating to the NASRMF national governance
arrangements nor the national accredited CFR Training
package was provided by any Ambulance Trust following
our FOI request i.e. despite a specific request for
protocols for deployment, training and treatment of
patients.
This was obviously a serious omission by the Trusts.
COMMUNITY FIRST RESPONSE
WHAT BENEFITS DO CFRS RECEIVE IN RETURN FOR
THEIR MEMBERSHIP FEE? - QUESTION 7
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To date, membership of NACFR has brought few if any benefits for
members.
It is for that reason that we have decided not to seek to recruit a
large membership until the Charity had been established, bank
account opened, our Trustees selected and our Strategy determined.
In the future the biggest benefit will be to access enhanced training,
have representation, independent of the Ambulance Trusts at
national, regional and local level to allow the development of CFR
schemes as their Communities wish them to develop.
COMMUNITY FIRST RESPONSE
HOW IS THE MONEY UTILISED? – QUESTION
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To date, as the Charity’s bank account has only been opened,
there has been no expenditure of membership funds.
To the best of my knowledge there are currently no plans to
spend such money.
All trustees are self financing and do not even claim any
expenses.
We currently rely on the generosity of supporting organisations
for any financial needs.
Our members will decide how our funds are utilised.
COMMUNITY FIRST RESPONSE
SUMMARY
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NACFR and NASRMF have as a base similar understandings –
establishment of CFRs are essential to saving lives.
NACFR seeks to provide an independent voice for CFRs to air
their views and to achieve their wishes as to how their skills are
improved and how and what they respond to.
We should work in partnership.
No one will understand nor forgive us if we do not.
COMMUNITY FIRST RESPONSE
THANK YOU
ANY QUESTIONS?
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COMMUNITY FIRST RESPONSE