Melton Mowbray is a rural town that is lucky enough to have its own ambulance station with staff from both Patient Transport and Accident and Emergency Services. In order to provide the local community with additional support in a serious emergency, St John Ambulance and the East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EMAS) have joined together to launch Community First Responders, which is a group of volunteers who have been trained in Basic Life Support and the use of an Automated External Defibrillator (AED). They can respond to potentially life-threatening medical emergencies in Melton Mowbray and provide the appropriate care for local patients prior to the arrival of an ambulance.

Dr Richard Cummins, from Seattle, USA, discovered that if a series of events took place in a set sequence, a heart attack victim has a greater chance of survival. These events are known as the 'Chain of Survival':

• Early Access
• Early Resuscitation
• Early Defibrillation
• Early Advanced Life Support

When put into practice by increasing public awareness, training in Basic Life Support (BLS) and community based defibrillators, these events have improved the pre-hospital survival rate between 25% and 30%. St John Ambulance and EMAS believe that by introducing a scheme where First Responders are trained in providing the first three events in this chain, there would be a significant improvement in the chance of survival.

First Responders are all unpaid volunteers that live in the Melton Mowbray area. In addition to providing emergency assistance, the group also has to organise it’s own

• On-call rota
• Fund Raising
• Administration

All members of the group have received first class training from St. John Ambulance before being permitted to attend incidents. Those with less experience have also served a probation period, attending calls with a more experienced member. All qualifications must be refreshed on a regular basis and, should a member’s certificate lapse, then they are withdrawn from the rota until the certificate has been re-taken.

In addition to first aid training, all members have been checked by the Criminal Record Bureau so that the public can be assured that all members of the group are responsible citizens.

All equipment used by the group has been purchased using donations from the local community. We currently have two kits operating, normally one in the south and one in the north of the town. Each kit contains a defibrillator, resuscitation equipment, oxygen and general first aid materials. Whilst consumables are replaced by the ambulance service, the group still requires funding so that other ongoing costs can be met.

How can you help?

You can help the Melton Neighbourhood First Responders by making a donation. You can be assured that every penny will support  the Melton Mowbray NFR group. Donations should be sent to

Joining the Melton NFR group

If you are 18 years old or over, physically fit and be able to demonstrate a satisfactory standard of proficiency after training. You should have a sympathetic, caring approach to people and have the ability to work as part of a team, be honest, trustworthy and reliable.

Further information

If you would like further information about the First Responder scheme please contact:

mailto:melton.cfr@googlemail.com

or by post