ABOUT US
Community First Responders (CFR’s) are volunteers, who respond to
emergency 999 calls for the ambulance service.
They are trained to a nationally recognised level by the ambulance service and deliver basic life support and defibrillation to patients in cardiac arrest. As well as other treatment including oxygen administration for various emergency situations prior to the arrival of the nearest available ambulance resource.
Established in 2005 FASTAID covered 2 main areas - Birmingham and the Black Country. In 2012 the charity split into ‘FASTAID - Black Country’ and ‘FASTAID - Birmingham’ due to the ever increasing number of Community First Responders (CFR’s) needed to serve a population of over 2 million people. Recently the charity has undergone a further change. We have now merged Fastaid Black Country into three different areas in order to serve the local public more efficientley.
QUEENS AWARD
We are proud as a charity to have received the prestigious Queen's Award for Voluntary Service this year in recognition of the work the charity has done in the community.
WHAT WE DO
Responders are ‘called out’ by West Midlands Ambulance Service if they can reach a life threatening situation quicker than an Ambulance Crew. Community First Responders normally cover an area approximately seven minutes travelling time from their home or work place responding to:
Cardiac arrests • Heart attack • Stroke • Choking • Diabetic emergencies • Traumatic emergencies
Registered Charity No: 1147703 Also known as WEST MIDLANDS AMBULANCE SERVICE EMERGENCY FIRST RESPONDERS (Black Country)
FUNDRAISING
FastAid Walsall is a self-funded charity, supported by West Midlands Ambulance Service, who provide the consumable items of kit and training.
However, it costs approximately £2,000 to kit out each active responder. We raise awareness of our work at community events and also try to educate members of the public in the fundamentals of life support.
The charity undertakes a variety of sponsored events. Through this we are able to raise small amounts of funding. However, we rely heavily on fundraising events and generous donations from the community and local businesses. If you'd like to make a donation regardless of the amount you can on the QR code and Links Bellow.
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Please help us fundraise and get to emergencies quicker
We would like to recognise and thank the local organisations, companies and individuals who have contributed to assisting FASTAID-Black Country Community First Responders. We couldn’t do the great work we do without their support.
Please support all those who kindly support us.
Alternatively If you or your business could help support us and allow the charity to continue it’s positive work in the
community please contact us at fundraising@fastaidblackcountry.org.uk
AEDs
FastAid Walsall work with West Midlands Ambulance Service both in increasing the number of defibrillators in the community and facilitating training in how to use them.
If you wish to install a AED in a local school, sports centre, transport or shopping facility or your local village, then follow these steps.
1. Check to see if there is a local AED already in your area.
2. Contact us with details of the organisation that will be raising the money for the AED, where you would like the AED to be installed, and what help you would like from the charity.
FREE FIRST AID TRAINING
We work with The British Heart Foundation in the community to deliver FREE Call Push rescue & Heartstart courses to teach CPR and other emergency life saving skills.
Course are informal and last about two hours covering dealing with an unconscious person, the signs and symptoms of a heart attack, recognising a cardiac arrest and performing CPR, dealing with choking and dealing with serious bleeding.
If you'd like us to come and deliver a course please email us at information@fastaidblackcountry.org.uk
CONTACT US
If you'd like to contact us about any aspect of what we do please complete the form opposite or email
0300 1240 276
