Rathdrum Community First Responders

The aim of Rathdrum Community First Responders is to provide emergency assistance to people in their community who suffer cardiac arrest, heart attack, stroke, chest pain or choking until an ambulance crew arrives. 

Member Q&A

What is your goal? 

To provide fast emergency medical assistance to victims of choking, chest pain, heart attacks, cardiac arrests and strokes until an ambulance arrives. 

How have you been working towards it? 

We formed a team of volunteers, attended training courses in the appropriate medical procedures, fundraised to buy clothing and equipment, registered for active on-call duty with the National Ambulance Service, registered as a charity with the CRA and became a member of The Wheel. We are now in our third year as a team of first responders. 

How has being a member of The Wheel helped? 

The Wheel has helped us with advice regarding the CRA, especially governance,  and also on issues associated with techniques for fundraising and managing volunteers. 

How can people support you? 

We always need funds to buy our equipment and protective clothing such as defibrillators, training mannequins, replacement pads and batteries and protective clothing items like gloves and masks. We would like to see more Public Access Defibrillators (PABs) in our operational area. To purchase and install a PAB can cost between €1000 and €2000. 

Do you have any success stories to share? 

In our first year on call we attended over 60 callouts which was a response rate of nearly 80%. We cannot give details of victims we attended or their health issues. 

Where can people find you on social media? 

Facebook: rathdrumcfr