Who we are

Slieve Croob Community First Responders is a cross community scheme.Trained volunteers will respond to certain medical emergencies across a 103 square mile area around Slieve Croob including Dromara, Castlewellan, Katesbridge, Clough, Leitrim, Closkelt, Kilcoo, Drumlee, Clanvaraghan, Bryansford, Drumaroad & Ballyroney

Community First Responder Schemes are made up of volunteers who live within their local community. The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) alert the volunteers to specific 999 emergency calls in their area and are complementary to the NIAS. Our aim is to reach a potentially life-threatening emergency in the vital first few minutes before the arrival of an ambulance crew. We are able to provide basic emergency life support and use a defibrillator if required. CFRs are alerted in addition to an ambulance, so an ambulance should already be on its way.

OUR COMMUNITY FIRST RESPONDERS

We have 25 fully trained Community First Responders (CFRs). Thanks to the kindness and support of many people, organisations & businesses to date, 24 of our CFR’s are equipped with a defibrillator.

NATIONAL LOTTERY COMMUNITY FUND

We have received funding from The National Lottery Community Fund which has been made possible thanks to National Lottery players. This important funding will enable us as a group to train our Community First Responders and also purchase and maintain the kitbags and life-saving equipment. @TNLCommunituityFundNorthernIreland

NORTHERN IRELAND AMBULANCE SERVICE

By working in partnership with the NIAS, we hope that the launch of the Slieve Croob Community First Responders Scheme will go some way in helping to improve emergency first aid response times by offering our local trained volunteers to attend any of our neighbours who find themselves in a medical emergency and who are awaiting the arrival of an ambulance.

OUR STORY

A price a lot of us have to pay for living in the picturesque area of Slieve Croob is the limited access we have to fast response times from the emergency services in our times of most need.

By working in partnership with the NIAS, we hope that the launch of the Slieve Croob Community First Responders Scheme will go some way in helping to improve emergency first aid response times by offering our local trained volunteers to attend any of our neighbours who find themselves in a medical emergency and who are awaiting the arrival of an ambulance.

106

Call Outs

We had 106 call-out alerts from NIAS to neighbours within our community since our service went operational on the 3rd May 2022

10%

Survival Reduction per minute delay

The chance of someone surviving a cardiac arrest (when a person’s heart stops pumping blood around their body and they stop breathing normally) decreases by approximately 10% for every minute that passes without CPR.

1500

Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrests

There are around 1500 Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrests (OHCA) in Northern Ireland per year, where resuscitation is attempted, and only 1 in 10 people are likely to survive.