Life-saving, community-based emergency support

Newport Community First Responders plays a vital role in safeguarding the health of people living in and around Newport. Operated entirely by trained volunteers, the group responds directly to 999 calls passed through the West Midlands Ambulance Service Control Room.
The Axis Foundation has awarded them £10,000 towards a new Community Response car to replace the group’s ageing existing vehicle.
“That’s absolutely fantastic news thank you. Switching to a plug-in hybrid will reduce fuel costs significantly and create long-term environmental benefits. The new vehicle will secure the future of the First Responders’ Scheme for the next decade, ensuring volunteers can continue bridging the widening gap between the 999 call and ambulance arrival.
“With emergency services stretched and delays increasingly common, the new vehicle will strengthen support for some of the area’s most vulnerable people, including the elderly and those with complex health conditions who require frequent urgent care.
“It will ensure that lifesaving, community-based emergency support remains available whenever it is needed most” – Russell Brooks, Community Response Co-ordinator
More about Newport First Responders
Since its formation, Newport First Responders has treated more than 11,000 people across a catchment area of 50,000 residents. Their community-based model enables them to reach patients quickly, particularly in remote rural areas where ambulance response times can take an hour or more.
Responders attend the most critical emergencies, including cardiac arrests, strokes, paediatric cases, falls from height and severe road traffic collisions. Equipped with lifesaving tools such as a defibrillator and oxygen, they can assess patients, deliver urgent treatment and relay vital information back to both the Control Room and receiving hospitals so clinicians can prepare treatment plans without delay. In the past year alone, their intervention has helped save the lives of two people in cardiac arrest.