Community First Responders Ireland (CFR Ireland)

In Ireland 5,000 People die each year from cardiac arrest, thirteen people every day. These people are going about their daily lives, at home, at work, shopping, at sports events and many collapse and die without warning.

70% to 80% of these collapses happen in the presence of family or friends. After suffering a cardiac arrest, for every minute that passes, the chances of recovery are reduced by up to 10%.

The current survival rate of Out‐of‐Hospital Cardiac Arrest (OOHCA) in Ireland is 5.2% Irish OOHCA Register 2012. We know that effective CPR and the use of an automated external defibrillator within the first 3-5 minutes of cardiac arrest can produce survival rates as high as 49% – 75%.

Recognising cardiac chest pain is particularly important, since the probability of cardiac arrest occurring as a consequence of acute myocardial ischemia (heart attack) is at least 21%-33% in the first hour after the onset of symptoms. Immediate CPR, following collapse, can double or triple the survival from cardiac arrest. Reducing trained responder response times to 5 minutes could almost double the survival rate for cardiac arrests.

Upon receipt of a 999/112 call Community First Responders are dispatched simultaneously with the National Ambulance Service. First Responders are only dispatched to Chest Pain, Breathing difficulty, Choking, Stroke and Cardiac related calls within a defined radius of their Communities. Because the people “on call” live or work in their area, they can respond in minutes and provide emergency measures and reassurance until the Ambulance Service arrives

 

Link ref: https://cfr.ie/about-us-3/