A Little About the Charity
We set up at the end of 2008 as Downland Heartstart and went 'live' at the end of 2009. We were registered with the Charities Commission on 11 August 2010, and in November 2015 we re-launched and changed our name to East Dean Responders. 

Our registered charity # is 1137441. Click here to see our entry on the Charity Commission website. We are a registered charity and achieve our above objective by recruiting, supporting and managing a team of Community First Responders (CFRs) who are all volunteers.

We are a registered charity and achieve our above objective by recruiting, supporting and managing a team of Community First Responders (CFRs) who are all volunteers.  

Our CFRs are local people so they can get to a medical emergency before the ambulance crew and an early response can sometimes save a life. Because our village is somewhat remote this is especially important in bad weather when the main roads might be closed.

CFRs are trained and regularly assessed by the South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb). Anyone of 18yrs and over can become a CFR and no previous experience is needed. The only requirement is that they have access to a car and can commit to at least 4 hours per week.

We organise an on-line rota system and try to cover as many hours as possible. Should a local medical emergency arise SECAmb will contact any local CFR who is on duty and request that they respond to it. Normally our CFRs only attend local emergencies. This is mainly because most of our funding has come from the local community but also because we can seldom get to an incident before the ambulance if it is away from our area.

It goes without saying that the more CFRs we have the better coverage we can provide. If you would like to know more please contact us for an informal chat. By becoming a CFR you will helping to provide an important service for our community and will enjoy the friendship and company of the rest of our team.

Numbers do Count!
Is your house number displayed so the emergency services can find you when you need them? If your house number is not easily seen it can cost precious time in an emergency. Every second wasted because the first responders or the ambulance service can't find the right house has a profound effect on the outcome, so please think about doing something about it.

Coughs and Sneezes, Nellie the Elephant, Never Hesitate to Call 999

The Charity has 8 Trustees. The Community First Responders (CFR's) are Trustees as this helps ensure a close working relationship within the organisation.

Please take a look at our past annual reports – these provide greater detail of what we do and how we operate; simply click on a link below.

Trustees Annual Report 2017/18 
Trustees Annual Report 2016/17 
Trustees Annual Report 2015/16
Trustees Annual Report 2014/15
Trustees Annual Report 2013/14
Trustees Annual Report 2012/13