What you'll get up to

As a St John Ambulance community first responder (CFR), you’ll provide emergency treatment to people in your local area. You’ll be dispatched by your NHS ambulance service to certain types of medical emergency (999) calls. You'll respond to these in your own car to patients in their homes, workplaces, or public locations.

Having someone in the community who has been trained in first aid and can reach the patient quickly, makes all the difference.

A CFR call can involve anything from simply reassuring the patient until the emergency services arrive, to providing immediate emergency treatment. Above all, it’s about being there for people in your community. You’ll be on-call from your home or work address.

Training

You don’t need any previous experience. We provide all the training you need, including:

  • induction for the role, with first aid training
  • ongoing training and support run jointly by St John Ambulance and the NHS Ambulance Trust

What you'll need:

  • your own car
  • a minimum of two years’ driving experience

If you’re passionate about providing long-term community support, we’d love to hear from you.

 Community first responder helps a patient

Volunteering has given me a purpose and made me realise what’s important in life. I used to get extremely stressed at work with a high-pressure job, but now I’m much more patient and understanding. – Tor, Community First Responder

Roles in this category include:

Community first responder

You’ll be dispatched as the first responder on the scene of 999 emergency calls.

Minimum time commitment:

5-8 hours per week on a shift basis.

Qualification level:

No previous first aid experience is required.

Unit community first responder lead

Meet our volunteers

Jodie Gough

Jodie Gough tells us a little bit about her experience volunteering with us as an Event First Aider and a Community First Responder...

Read about Jodie's experiences

Join the team that saves lives

Find out which roles are available where you live or nearby, and start your journey in to volunteering