Ipswich Community First Responders

30/01/2026

🩸 BLEEDING – FIRST AID 🩸

What to do if someone is bleeding❓️

🛑 1. Make it safe
Check the area is safe for you and the casualty

✋ 2. Apply pressure
Use a clean cloth, dressing or your gloved hand and press firmly on the wound

⬆️ 3. Raise the injury
If possible, raise the wounded area above heart level (unless it causes pain or injury)

🩹 4. Bandage
Secure with a bandage once bleeding slows.
If blood soaks through, apply more dressings on top

🧍 5. Help them
Keep the person calm and still. Watch for signs of shock (pale, cold, dizzy)

🚫 Do NOT
❌ Remove objects stuck in the wound
❌ Wash deep or heavily bleeding wounds
❌ Use tourniquets unless trained to do so

🚑 Call 999 urgently if:
• Bleeding is heavy or won’t stop
• Blood is spurting
• An object is embedded
• The person becomes drowsy or unresponsive

15/01/2026

💡 Did You Know? 💡

Community First Responders are volunteers who rely on charitable donations to help keep us responding when our community needs us most.

Donations help fund:
🚑 Life-saving equipment
🎓 Ongoing training
🧰 Responder kit bags & Uniform

Every contribution — big or small — helps us continue to support the East of England Ambulance Service and caring for our local community

💚 If you’re able to support us, please consider donating:
👉https://www.justgiving.com/page/ipswichcfr

Thank you for helping us help Ipswich.

09/01/2026

🧠 STROKE – ACT FAST 🧠

⏱️ Stroke is a medical emergency — every minute matters

Use F.A.S.T. to spot the signs:

🙂 F – Face
Ask them to smile. Does one side droop?

💪 A – Arms
Ask them to raise both arms. Does one arm fall?

🗣️ S – Speech
Is their speech slurred or hard to understand?

🚑 T – Time
Call 999 immediately if you notice any of these signs.

🛑 While waiting for help:
• Keep them safe, calm and comfortable
• Help them sit or lie down
• Do not give food or drink
• Reassure and stay with them

🚫 Do NOT
❌ Let them “sleep it off”
❌ Delay calling 999

⚠️ Other stroke signs can include:
• Sudden vision problems
• Confusion or dizziness
• Severe headache
• Numbness on one side of the body

06/01/2026

❄️ Snow and ice are still affecting some parts of our region today. Please remember: cold weather can be especially tough for those who are more vulnerable —

✅ People with chronic health conditions
✅ Those living with disabilities that make it hard to keep warm
✅ Older adults (65+)
✅ Young children (under 5)

Help everyone ⬇️

✅ Check in on others
🧥 Wear warm clothing
💉 Get your winter vaccines
💊 Stock your medicine cabinet
🏠 Keep your home at least 18°C.
👉 Find heating help: gov.uk/get-help-energy-bills

Thanks to Paula for this lovely picture taken in Beccles this week. ❄️❄️

03/01/2026

🚗 What is a Community First Responder (CFR)? 🚗

Community First Responders (CFRs) are trained volunteers from your local community who work alongside the East of England Ambulance Service to help people when they need it most.

📍 What do they do?

When a 999 call is received, a CFR may be sent to emergencies close to where they live or work. Because they’re already nearby, they can often arrive before an ambulance, providing vital early care until ambulance crews take over.

🩺 What care can they provide?

CFRs are trained to respond to a range of emergencies, including:

- Cardiac arrests
- Chest pain
- Breathing difficulties
- Unconscious patients

CFRs carry essential lifesaving equipment such as defibrillators and oxygen, and provide reassurance and support to patients and families at what can be a very frightening time.

🤝 Part of the community, for the community

CFRs are not ambulance staff – they are volunteers who give their time to help their community. They come from all walks of life, but share one thing in common: a desire to make a difference locally.

🚑 By providing early care, CFRs help and support ambulance crews so they can focus on patients who need them most 💚

31/12/2025

🎆 Happy New Year from Ipswich Community First Responders 🎇

As the New Year begins, we’d like to wish everyone in Ipswich and the surrounding areas a safe, healthy, and positive year ahead

💡 If you’re celebrating, please look after one another, drink responsibly, and plan safe journeys home

🚨 In an emergency, always call 999

💚 Thank you for your continued support — we’re proud to serve our community

08/07/2024

https://www.internationalparamedicsday.com/

The first ever International Paramedics Day will be held on 8th July 2022 to recognise and celebrate the work carried out by paramedics and first responders around the world.

08/07/2023

Very pleased to help out at "Can Do Health and Care Expo 2023" with others from EEAST and NARS along with a host of other organisations.
Simon Sinclair and I took the Ipswich CFR car; thanks Simon

Got to demonstrate the Raizer chair. 😀

23/03/2023

Very pleased to be hosted by St Helen's Primary this afternoon and get the opportunity to go through CPR and the use of an AED, along with the recovery position and bandaging with Year 6.
It was great to have such engagement and enthusiasm 😀

Thanks to Rich for organising this, and also Essex and Suffolk Medical Services for the loan of the manikins and AED trainers.

03/03/2023

We are very happy to announce that we have been put forward by the Tesco Community Grants Scheme for the in store votes from the first week in April.

Stores you can vote in are:
Ipswich Extra IP8 3TS
Ipswich Norwich Road Express IP1 4BP
Ipswich Foxhall Express IP3 8LH
Manningtree Exp ress CO11 1AJ
Ipswich Duke St Express IP3 0BF
Ipswich St Matthews St Express IP1 3EW
Ipswich Nacton Rd Express IP3 9NA

If you happen to be shopping in these stores, we would love it if you could vote for us 😀

06/11/2022

A very big THANK YOU to the Asda Foundation through Asda Stoke Park for their wonderful donation which has allowed us to purchase a new pulseoximeter to replace the old one we had.

06/11/2022

We finally have our uniforms sorted and have got together for a photo opportunity 🙂
A HUGE thank you to Ipswich Greyfriars Round Table for their wonderful donation which made this possible