Response Driving

First Response on route!

If you saw our Emergency Responder scheme vehicles on the road you would find it hard to distinguish it from a regular rapid response vehicle from any ambulance service, this is not by chance, our vehicles are tasked by ambulance Headquarters in the same way as regular ambulances. Emergency Responders log on with the ambulance tasking service and appear on their screens as an ambulance. Tasking to 999 calls is by a system called terrafix or phone and our response times form part of the national statistics for the NHS.

a common occurrence

Our vehicles are stocked with enough supplies to see us through at least 2 calls before restocking, we often find that we are despatched to remote locations and rolling from one call to another is a common occurrence. Our equipment consists of a rucksack that contains an Automated External Defibrillator, oxygen bottle and masks, a bag valve mask set, and suction pump. Ancillary items such as orophrayngeal airways in different sizes, BP Cuff, scissors and patient report forms. We also take a trauma bag that contains various sized bandages and burns dressings.

First Response driver training

advanced driving techniques

Driving the First Response vehicles requires specialist training, refered to as D2 training, this consists of a 2 or 3 week course run by the ambulance service in advanced driving techniques where the use of sirens, lights and the law are discussed, practised and tested.