Tony Jenkins - Biggin Hill volunteer profile

Tony Jenkins is a volunteer with the ambulance community responder scheme in Biggin Hill, Bromley.

Why did you want to be a volunteer?

A friend of mine who works for the London Ambulance Service introduced me to the ambulance community responders. It’s a great idea for local communities like Biggin Hill where a lot of the time you are called out to treat people you know. Our local knowledge of the area means that we can arrive on scene very quickly and provide care until the ambulance turns up.

What do you do for a living?

This is completely different to my day job as a project manager, and it does not interfere with it at all. Everyone on the ambulance community responder rota does a different day job and we can therefore cover different shift patterns.

What training and equipment do you receive?

Each ambulance community responder volunteer is trained in emergency life-support, resulting in a nationally-recognised qualification. This involves learning the delivery of basic life-support, the use of a defibrillator (a machine used to restart a person’s heart when it stops beating), and how to rapidly assess a patient’s condition before passing them into the care of ambulance staff.

Following training we are assessed for competence in the delivery of basic life-support and the use of a defibrillator. There is a statutory requirement to also take refresher training.

We also receive high-visibility clothing and magnetic car-markings for when we’re on duty.

What do you need to become a volunteer?

It’s important that volunteers are community-minded and good communicators. You can get sent to some very stressful, emergency situations, so you need to be calm under pressure and physically fit.

You also need a car, and to have held a full driving licence for at least one year. Every volunteer undergoes a Criminal Records Bureau check.

What hours are you on duty?

Our coordinator, who is also an ambulance community responder, organises us into a rota, and we are on call between three and 12 hours at a time.

At the moment we provide cover five days a week but when more people volunteer for the scheme we hope to provide cover 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

What sort of 999 emergency calls are you sent to?

We’re asked to attend medical emergencies in an agreed area to patients over eight-years-old in a life threatening condition. This could be patients who are unconscious, who have chest pain or who are in cardiac arrest.

We are not sent to any emergencies that may threaten our own safety, such as domestic violence, or any traumatic incidents, like road traffic accidents.

An ambulance response is always sent in addition to one of us.

How are you sent to emergency calls?

Along with medical equipment, whoever is on duty is passed a dedicated mobile phone.

When the ambulance control room receives a suitable call in our area, we are activated by phone.

We drive to emergency calls abiding by the rules of the Highway Code. We do not receive blue-light training, nor do we drive on blue lights at any time.

What sort of treatment can you give to a patient?

If a patient’s heart has stopped beating they are in cardiac arrest and need life-saving help as soon as possible. Using a defibrillator we can help to start a patient’s heart again while the ambulance is on the way.

We also carry oxygen, which can relieve breathlessness, and other equipment to stabilise a patient. We can assess a patient’s condition and give ambulance staff a good idea of what has been happening.

How often are you called each shift?

On average we get one call every 12 hours on duty, but anything can happen. Sometimes you’ll get no calls in a shift and sometimes two or three, it really depends on who calls an ambulance in the area.

What sort of medical emergencies have you attended?

Since being an ambulance community responder I have been called to a number of different calls including difficulty in breathing, a stroke and even a nose-bleed, which is quite uncommon for us to get called out to.In all these situations I was able to comfort the patient while the ambulance was on the way.