A Community First Responder scheme at South Central Ambulance Service is providing real benefits for both patients and the service.

The scheme sees Community First Responders dispatched to people who have fallen without injury or need a welfare check.

On average, South Central Ambulance Service receives around 180 calls a day relating to a patient who has fallen – more than 65,000 calls a year.

Nic Morecroft, Head of Community Engagement & Training, explains:

When we are extremely busy with emergency cases getting an ambulance to a patient who has been triaged as a non-injury fall, and who is inside their own home, can sometimes take longer than we’d like. Sending a Community First Responder means that we can see the patient, and they can be safely lifted off the floor, much more quickly.

Since April this year only a quarter of patients who have fallen have had to be taken to hospital, so patients benefit by staying in their own home. It also means that ambulance crews are freed up to attend more emergencies.