When you call 999, your call goes through to a BT operator who will ask you which emergency service you require. If you require an ambulance and live in either Northumberland or County Durham, your call will be routed through to the North East Ambulance Service Control Room at Panther House in Newcastle. As soon as your call is answered by Ambulance Control the Call Taker will ask the address where the Ambulance is required. This is then passed directly to the Control Dispatcher who will allocate the job to the nearest Ambulance which will start travelling immediately. The computer system used in Ambulance Control will also alert the Control Dispatcher if there is a First Responder on duty in the area who could also attend the incident. If this is the case, the Dispatcher contacts the First Responder by mobile phone and passes them details of the job. In every case where a First Responder is activated, a conventional Ambulance is dispatched first. While the Dispatcher is arranging this, the Call Taker is still taking details from the caller such as the nature of the illness and patients condition etc.

If Ambulance Control decide to activate a First Responder from the H&D CFR scheme, they will call the mobile phone number for whichever First Responder is on duty - at present with just two First Responders, our own personal mobile phones are used; most schemes have a dedicated mobile phone that is passed around on-call members. Both First Responders carry their medical equipment in their cars so as soon as the call comes in from Ambulance Control and the details of the job are passed, they can be on the road en-route to the incident as quickly as possible. With a few exceptions, Community First Responders within the North East Ambulance Service are not exempt from the Highway Code or any laws governing the rules of the road and are not to use any kind of visual or audible warning devices. On arrival on scene, the First Responder has all the training and equipment necessary to manage the patient prior to the arrival of the Ambulance. In some cases, the First Responder may find that it is not necessary to initiate any medical treatment but simply to provide reassurance to the patient, or they may find themselves able to secure an airway and allow breathing to recommence or be in a position to provide defibrillation to a cardiac arrest patient.

The Ambulance Service ensures that those who volunteer as Community First Responders are trained and competent in simple and safe life saving techniques. In a life and death situation, there is often little harm that can be done compared to doing nothing at all. All First Responders are trained to a high standard, are reassessed regularly and operate within set guidelines. As agents of the North East Ambulance Service NHS Trust, H&D CFR scheme First Responders are insured against any medical errors arising providing that the appropriate protocols and procedures are followed.