Working with our local communities

We are very lucky to be supported by over 1,200 active and valued volunteers and other partners in a number of roles.

Our community first responders (CFRs) are volunteers who are trained by us to attend certain types of emergency calls in the area where they live or work. Their aim is to reach a potential life-threatening emergency in the first vital minutes before the ambulance crew arrives.

Their role is to help stabilise the patient and provide the appropriate care until the more highly skilled ambulance crew arrives on scene to take over the treatment.

They also promote community partnerships and integrated working.

Working with our Non-Emergency Patient Transport Service, our volunteer car drivers are essential to help us provide an additional ambulance car service to our patients helping to take them to hospitals and other services.

Royal Air Force (RAF) personnel also provide life-saving interventions prior to our arrival working under a memorandum of understanding with the Trust as well as assisting with calls to patients who have fallen and bariatric patients.

As for RAF personnel, the Fire and Rescue Service (FRS) respond to a wide range of pre-defined 999 calls.

Our Community Engagement Group (CEG) members are a knowledgeable, keen and enthusiastic group of volunteers, who are willing to participate and support us wherever they can, but also to be a “critical friend” when necessary.

Networked in west and east localities and drawn from urban and rural communities, the CEG have their own work plan and members of the group sit on many of our groups and committees, to ensure patient and public representation is integral to how we plan and deliver our services.

We have implemented a number of actions within the last twelve months, including;

• Volunteer delivery plan
• Safe recruitment processes
• Provided specific additional training and continuous professional development (CPD) events as well as providing early access to training held on our internal platform.
• Launched the EEAST Heart charity with community education on basic life support (BLS) for the public.
• We are also a pilot provider for Health Education England (HEE) within their Volunteer to Career initiative.

We have a number of activities and measures planned for 2023/24 including;

• Development of a Volunteer Management System.
• Development of volunteer hub and introduction of new volunteer roles.
• Involvement of volunteers within wellbeing models.
• Ongoing work with FRS and RAF.
• Volunteers week 1st June.

For more information about how to become a volunteer, please go to Volunteering and volunteers.

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