Ambulance Service Expands Volunteer Role Across Sussex And South East

South East Coast Ambulance Service (Secamb) has announced plans to expand the role of volunteers to help respond to a wider range of incidents.

The move is part of a new volunteering and community resilience strategy aimed at increasing the training and support available to volunteers across Kent, Surrey and Sussex.

Secamb says the changes will allow volunteers to provide additional support within communities while helping to ease pressure on frontline ambulance services.

Under the plans, volunteers will be trained to respond to more incidents, including non-injury falls, as well as playing a bigger role in delivering basic life support training to the public.

This includes raising awareness of how to respond to cardiac arrests – encouraging people to recognise the signs, call 999 and begin emergency chest compressions as quickly as possible.

Danny Dixon, Head of Community Resilience at Secamb, said volunteers already make a “vital” contribution to saving lives.

He said the strategy would build on this by giving them the training, opportunities and support needed to have an even greater impact.

Secamb hopes the approach will strengthen community resilience, empower more people to act in emergencies and ultimately improve patient outcomes across the region.