Community First Responders: What They Do and How to Join

If you call 999 for an ambulance in the UK, the person who reaches you first may not arrive in an ambulance at all. It may be a neighbour in their own car, carrying a defibrillator and an oxygen kit, sent by the ambulance service because they can get to you faster. These volunteers are community first responders, and they are trained in the first three links of the Chain of Survival: early recognition of cardiac arrest, early CPR and early defibrillation¹.

Their whole purpose is the first few minutes. The East of England Ambulance Service puts it plainly: "If we are able to send a community first responder, they may arrive before ambulances do"². North East Ambulance Service says the same: a responder "can get to the scene before the ambulance to provide immediate care"³. In rural areas especially, where ambulance crews have longer to travel, a trained local volunteer is often the fastest way to get life-saving help to a patient⁴. In Wales, volunteer responders travel in their own vehicles to give "essential lifesaving treatment and support in those crucial minutes before the ambulance crew arrives"⁶.

This page explains what community first responders actually do at an emergency, which calls they are sent to and which they are not, how a 999 call brings one to your door, and how to become one yourself. It also covers GoodSAM, the phone app that alerts trained volunteers to cardiac arrests nearby, and how to find your nearest public access defibrillator.

What a community first responder does at an emergency

A community first responder is a member of the public, trained by the ambulance service to provide life-saving treatment to people in their local community while waiting for an ambulance or a rapid response vehicle⁵. They are not paramedics and they do not replace the ambulance crew. Their role, as the Scottish Ambulance Service describes it, is "to help stabilise the patient and provide the appropriate care until the more highly skilled ambulance crew arrives on scene to take over the treatment"⁴.

In practice, that means a defined set of skills. The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service trains its responders to provide basic life support, use an automated external defibrillator (AED), place unconscious casualties into the recovery position, provide life-saving interventions to a choking casualty, and update the emergency operations centre as required¹. Everything they do is aimed at keeping the person alive and their condition stable until the crew arrives.

Responders are usually based in rural communities, where ambulance crews have longer to travel to the patient⁴. If you live in a rural area, the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service notes, the first person to arrive on scene may be a community first responder⁵. But the principle applies anywhere a trained volunteer happens to be closer than the nearest crew: several ambulance services describe sending a responder who is nearby alongside, or ahead of, the dispatched ambulance³.

One thing worth knowing as a householder: you do not need to be a trained responder to make the same difference. London Ambulance Service advises that early CPR and defibrillation "can more than double someone's chances of survival", and both can be performed by a member of the public before the ambulance service arrives¹¹. If you want those skills for your own household, see our first aid guide.

The calls they attend, and the ones they are not sent to

Ambulance services only alert community first responders to a specific list of call types. These are the emergencies where minutes matter most and where a trained layperson can genuinely change the outcome.

Calls responders are alerted to¹:

• Cardiac arrest
• Chest pain
• Choking
• Unconscious casualties
• Seizures

These overlap closely with the classic reasons to call 999 in the first place. London Ambulance Service lists chest pain, difficulty in breathing, unconsciousness, severe loss of blood, severe burns or scalds, choking, fitting or concussion, drowning and severe allergic reactions as examples of 999 calls¹⁰, and South Western Ambulance Service groups chest pain, breathing difficulties, heart attack and cardiac arrest together as ambulance emergencies¹³. The Scottish Ambulance Service confirms cardiac arrest as a call type a responder may attend¹².

Cardiac arrest is the call every scheme is built around. It means someone has stopped breathing, lost consciousness or does not respond to stimulation¹⁴. The advised response from the ambulance services is consistent: call 999 immediately, start chest compressions if it is safe to do so, and send someone to fetch a defibrillator if one is nearby¹⁵. Call handlers can guide you through CPR and direct you to the closest public access defibrillator¹⁶. Before approaching the person, check for danger¹⁷.

Calls responders are not knowingly alerted to¹:

• Patients under 12 years old
• Trauma incidents
• Situations involving possible hazards, including alcohol, drugs or potential violence
• Mental health crises

The exclusion of children under 12 and trauma calls reflects the limits of a responder's training and kit: those patients need skills and equipment beyond basic life support. The hazard exclusions are about volunteer safety. The same principle applies to you as a bystander: if you are not already at the scene of an emergency, do not attempt to get closer, as this can put you in danger and get in the way of the emergency services¹⁹.

How a 999 call brings a responder to you

The pathway from your phone call to a knock at the door is short. The first person you speak to when you call 999 is the BT operator, who will ask "Emergency, which service?"². Once you are connected to the ambulance service's emergency operations centre, the call is assessed and an ambulance is dispatched if one is needed⁹.

Alongside that dispatch, the system looks for a responder. Yorkshire Ambulance Service describes sending a volunteer community first responder "to get to the scene before the ambulance to provide immediate care" when an ambulance is required⁹. North East Ambulance Service does the same³. In some cases, an alternative first response from within the community may urgently attend the patient to deliver first aid at the scene². North West Ambulance Service adds that you may receive help from a community first responder if they are nearby¹⁰.

The responder is not choosing to come. They are alerted by the ambulance service, they update the emergency operations centre on what they find¹, and the ambulance crew takes over treatment when it arrives⁴. From your point of view as the caller, nothing changes in what you should do: call 999, follow the call handler's instructions, start CPR if you are told to, and expect that the first help on scene may arrive in an ordinary car.

Why minutes matter: survival falls about 10% per minute

The reason ambulance services invest in volunteers is a single stark figure. Survival chances in cardiac arrest drop by about 10% for every minute without CPR and defibrillation¹. East of England Ambulance Service states it as: "For every minute that someone's in cardiac arrest without receiving CPR and having a defibrillator used on them, their chances of survival fall"¹⁸, and the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service gives the same warning to callers⁷. The Resuscitation Council UK, cited by the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service, puts the effect of each minute's delay in defibrillation at approximately 7 to 10%²⁰.

The consequences are plain. In the UK, survival rates remain critically low, with just 1 in 10 surviving an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest²⁰, and North West Ambulance Service reports that less than 1 in 10 people survive a cardiac arrest²¹. Unless immediately treated with CPR and defibrillation, the person will die within minutes²¹. One of the main reasons survival is so low is the lack of action from bystanders before ambulance crews arrive²¹.

The flip side is why responders exist. When early CPR and a defibrillator are used within the first 3 to 5 minutes, survival rates can increase up to 70%²². That window is often shorter than the time it takes an ambulance to reach a rural address, which is exactly the gap a local responder fills⁴.

The kit a responder carries

Community first responders carry a standard issue of kit. Yorkshire Ambulance Service describes it as kit bags comprising an automated external defibrillator (AED), oxygen, oropharyngeal airways and a standard set of first aid equipment²³. The defibrillator is the centrepiece: it is what allows a responder, or indeed an untrained member of the public, to deliver the shock that restarts a heart, and modern AEDs talk the user through each step.

The same thinking has spread to public spaces beyond responder schemes. Public Access Trauma (PAcT) first aid kits are designed "for use by any person, regardless of their level of training, to support the treatment of life threatening injuries"²⁴. ProtectUK advises that these kits significantly enhance an organisation's existing first aid preparedness, increase first aid resilience amongst the general public and improve the survivability of a person with life threatening injuries²⁴. A PAcT kit includes personal protective equipment: four pairs of disposable gloves, disposable glasses and a disposable face mask²⁴.

If your community is thinking about where a defibrillator should go, the South Central Ambulance Service recommends sites with a large footfall, such as a public telephone box, outside a pub, village hall or community centre, with 24/7 access to the public, an unlocked cabinet, and clear signage and lighting⁸. Public access defibrillators should be kept in unlocked cabinets so people can get to them quickly in an emergency²⁶. Our page on locked or unlocked defibrillator cabinets compares the options, and registering and looking after a village defibrillator explains the upkeep.

Who can become a community first responder

The bar to entry is deliberately achievable. The Scottish Ambulance Service defines its responders as "volunteers who are trained by us to attend certain types of emergency calls in the area where they live or work"⁴. Yorkshire Ambulance Service describes them as volunteers with basic life support skills²³. In other words, you do not need a medical background: the ambulance service provides the training, and you provide the availability in your own neighbourhood.

For the GoodSAM Responder scheme, which works alongside traditional schemes, the stated eligibility is being aged over 18 and trained as a minimum in basic first aid, with the ability to hold an airway open and perform CPR²⁷.

Schemes themselves are usually set up as independent community groups or charities¹. Each scheme has a Co-ordinator who acts as a point of contact for the volunteers and serves as the point of contact with the ambulance service⁷. So joining usually means two things: applying to your regional ambulance service, and linking up with your local scheme through its Co-ordinator.

The scale varies by nation. In Northern Ireland, as of September 2025, over 450 dedicated community first responders across 25 schemes were on call¹. The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service arrived at the scene of an incident on 173,695 occasions in 2024/2025⁵, which gives a sense of the call volume a small volunteer force sits alongside.

Volunteering as a responder is one of several ways to help your community prepare. Greater Manchester's resilience guidance suggests learning first aid because it can take some time for emergency services to arrive at an incident, and by learning first aid you can save lives and look after those who are injured²⁸. If you are weighing up which role suits you, see our guides on volunteering in emergencies and what volunteers can safely do.

Training: a two-day course and a refresher every 12 months

Initial training for community first responders in Northern Ireland is a two-day course held over a weekend at the Clinical Education Training Centre in Knockbracken Healthcare Park, covering essential skills⁷. Other services run comparable induction training before a responder goes on call. The content maps to the first three links of the Chain of Survival: early recognition of cardiac arrest, early CPR and early defibrillation¹.

After the course, support continues:

• Mentorship: new responders are recommended to work alongside an experienced responder to build confidence¹
• Ongoing updates: refresher training every 12 months, held at your local scheme, plus non-clinical courses such as moving and handling¹

If you are not ready to commit to a full responder scheme but want the core skills, shorter sessions exist across the country. South Western Ambulance Service runs community CPR and defibrillator familiarisation sessions, usually lasting 60 to 90 minutes, covering how to recognise a cardiac arrest, how to perform effective CPR, how to safely use a public access defibrillator, and what happens when you call 999²². South Central Ambulance Service offers a basic life support awareness session lasting 90 to 120 minutes⁸. The Met Office's community resilience training prospectus also offers courses for community and voluntary groups that work closely with local emergency responders; access is arranged by contacting your local responder contact²⁹.

GoodSAM: the app that alerts trained volunteers to cardiac arrests

GoodSAM, short for "Good Samaritan", is a community of first aid trained responders, willing to assist during a cardiac arrest²⁷. The app dispatches trained volunteers with basic life support skills to life-threatening emergencies, like a cardiac arrest, via their smartphone¹¹. It has been endorsed by the Resuscitation Council UK²⁷.

The mechanism is automatic. When a 999 call is assessed as life-threatening, the ambulance service sends the location to the GoodSAM app and the nearest available registered responder is alerted; if they cannot respond, the alert passes to the next nearest responder¹¹. The system uses GPS to match life-threatening emergencies with the closest trained responders¹¹. Responders are also directed to the nearest defibrillator¹¹. The platform is integrated with most UK ambulance services, alerting nearest responders to out-of-hospital cardiac arrest or a patient choking with ineffective breathing²⁷.

In Northern Ireland, the scheme has run since July 2019, and the aim is to increase survival by alerting nearby trained responders to those in cardiac arrest, to provide assistance until the ambulance service arrives³⁰. Responders may be alerted when in the immediate vicinity of a cardiac arrest, so that they can start CPR in the critical minutes before the emergency services arrive, and use a defibrillator if one is available³⁰. Nationally, NHS England describes the programme as aiming to save lives by utilising technology to connect trained responders to nearby emergencies, harnessing the skills of community volunteers and professionals to offer immediate help before emergency services arrive²⁶.

How to register as a GoodSAM Responder:

1. Train in basic life support: CPR and defibrillator use. In Northern Ireland, you register at www.goodsamapp.org after downloading the GoodSAM Responder App³⁰.
2. Verify your ID and qualifications. All responders have ID and certification verification of qualifications; when qualifications expire, you must renew your certification or you are no longer alerted²⁷.
3. Respond when alerted. If you accept an alert, fill in the details of the incident in the inbuilt Mission Log report, which you have access to after your account has been activated²⁷.

Two protections are worth knowing. In Northern Ireland, the Department of Health is prepared to underwrite the costs associated with any legal claim for damages made against the ambulance service, including injury to the responder themselves, with cover starting from the time a volunteer indicates on the app that they have accepted the call²⁷. And the Medical Protection Society considers that members acting as responders fall within its definition of a Good Samaritan act, provided the member complies with the GoodSAM Code of Conduct²⁷. Our page on whether emergency volunteers need insurance covers this in more detail.

The alert radius is deliberately tight: the application will only alert you if you are within 500 metres of a casualty, and you are expected to walk to the patient²⁷. For a fuller explanation of the app, see GoodSAM: how the responder alert app works.

GoodSAM from the caller's side: live video and translation

GoodSAM is not only for responders. If you call 999, the control officer may ask your permission to send a text message containing a secure link. If you agree, opening the link starts a live video stream direct from your phone to the control room³¹. The video footage allows control officers to send the most suitable resources and offer advice based on a more detailed understanding of the incident³¹. London Fire Brigade, which uses the same platform, notes that it can receive a live video stream of an incident from a 999 caller and share that footage with fire crews³².

The service is free and limited in what it takes: "It won't cost you anything, and no other data is taken from your phone, or stored on it"³¹. The video is stored securely for 30 days before being deleted³¹.

GoodSAM also works as a translation service for 104 different languages³². Control room officers send a text in English, which is translated and delivered in the caller's chosen language; the caller replies in that language and the message comes back to the officer in English³². The platform also offers precise location tools, including eastings and northings, What3Words and longitude and latitude, which is especially helpful for incidents like wildfires where crews need to be sent to a precise location distant from any identifiable landmarks³².

Finding a defibrillator near you

The quickest answer is www.defibfinder.uk, which shows whether there is a defibrillator near you⁸. If you are on a 999 call, you do not need to search alone: emergency call handlers will help direct callers to the nearest available device and explain how to use it¹⁸. In Northern Ireland's model, a second person at the scene retrieves the defibrillator, which will be within a one-mile radius, allowing the first caller to continue CPR²⁰.

Ambulance stations, fire stations and local supermarkets are just some of the community buildings that have AEDs located for public access use²⁰. When siting one, choose a location with 24/7 access to the public²⁵.

Businesses and community groups wanting to place a defibrillator can contact the South Central Ambulance Service charity team at info@sca-charity.org.uk, or use the online form or scas.defib@nhs.net for local community groups⁸.

Where responder schemes fit in local emergency planning

Community first responder schemes sit within a wider structure of local emergency planning. Local Resilience Forums are multi-agency partnerships that bring together Category 1 and Category 2 responders under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 to coordinate planning, preparation and response for emergencies and major incidents within a specific geographical area³³. Category 1 responders include the police, fire and rescue services, ambulance services, NHS bodies, local authorities and the Environment Agency³³.

Volunteer responders are part of that picture but separate from it: they are trained and tasked by the ambulance service, not by the forum. If you want to go further than responding, Greater Manchester's guidance suggests becoming a volunteer with the fire and rescue service to help keep communities safe by delivering informative, educational and practical support²⁸. Our guides on setting up a local emergency group and how councils and emergency services work with local groups explain the rest of the landscape.