Penkridge & District Community First Responders

28/12/2025

West Midlands Ambulance Service are now recruiting for Community First Responders.

If you're interested in supporting your local community, and our local ambulance service, then we'd love to welcome you!

A few things to know...

This is a voluntary role. There is no absolute commitment around when you'd be required to be on duty - you can work around your home and work life. Notionally you need to look to do an average of 5 hours per week.

You don't need any experience - all medical training is provided. You do need to be confident and good with people.

The training dates are shown on the website, and include consecutive weekends or some weekdays. To qualify you'll need to pass a practical assessment and a theory paper.

Once qualified you need to attend 1 or 2 mandatory training days (week day or weekends available) each year, and complete a mandatory workbook.

If you're thinking of applying please drop us a message and we can give you some more information to help you decide if this is for you.

Closing date is 11 January 2026.

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20/12/2025

Thank you to everyone that has supported us throughout 2025.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year.

19/12/2025

You may have seen our community ambulance out and about, we may have been out to you or someone you know, or you or members of your family may have taken part in CPR awareness sessions we run.

As a small local charity our volunteers do what they do to provide immediate care to the communities of Penkridge and surrounding villages, supporting the hard work of West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS).

Community First Responders (CFRs) are volunteers trained by WMAS, and WMAS will be running a recruitment campaign from 22 December. Their aim is to recruit around 100 new CFRs from across the WMAS region to be trained in 2026.

If you're interested in volunteering with us (as an active responder, or to help with the administration of the charity) or finding out more about what we do with absolutely no obligation you can...

1. Send us a message, or reply to our post.

2. Visit the WMAS CFR page: https://www.wmas.nhs.uk/work-with-us/explore-roles/community-first-responders-cfr/

3. Take a look at this page on our website: https://padcfr.org/about-cfr-s/

We'd love to hear from you!

What is a Community First Responder Scheme?Community First Responders are teams of volunteers trained by the ambulance service to a nationally recognised level and provide life saving treatment to …

16/10/2025

Tonight our first responders Neil and Simon have spent the evening with the Midlands Air Ambulance Charity at their Cosford airbase.

This was a really useful HEMS awareness event for volunteer responders to understand the capabilities and operations of the three air ambulance helicopters and two critical care cars operated by the charity.

What an amazing job they do, and like Penkridge Community First Responders they rely solely on fundraising with no NHS funding.

15/10/2025

04/10/2025

| We are still urging motorists to take extra caution whilst travelling on our roads, especially those around Cannock Chase and Norton Canes during the deer rutting season.

The rut which started late September and continues through to the end of November, will see an increase of deer near to and on our roads as they travel through the forest in search for a mate. This means they can appear suddenly, without warning and often there is more than one.

Follow these tips to help keep you and the deer safe:

⚠️ When you see warning signs or are travelling through a heavily wooded or forested stretch of road, reduce your speed and stay alert.

🚗 If your headlights are on, use full-beams when you can, but dip them if you see deer as they may freeze.

🦌 More deer may follow the first one you see, so remain vigilant.

✋ Be prepared to stop suddenly. Try not to suddenly swerve to avoid a deer. Hitting oncoming traffic or another obstacle could be even worse.

🚨 If you have to stop, use your hazard warning lights.

📱 If you hit a deer and it is injured or of it is dead and causing an obstruction please call us on 999 so that we can notify the Deer warden.

27/09/2025

Our volunteers, Simon and Cat, are on duty in Penkridge this morning.

A huge thank you to Valerie for the Cadbury’s Heroes that she just delivered to us while we’re parked in the village! 😊

20/07/2025

While we’re based in Penkridge we do cover the surrounding district - which is wherever West Midlands Ambulance Service need us!

Which for today meant our volunteer, Simon, providing patient care across various areas of Cannock.

28/06/2025

Good luck to those taking part in the Penkridge 10k and Fun Run on Sunday.

Your community ambulance, RC662, will be out and about crewed by our volunteers Abby and Simon.

The heatwave is set to continue and while the forecast is showing some cloud cover the risks of sunburn and dehydration are very real.

So if you’re running or even if you’re supporting those who are, then please remember your fluids and sun block!

26/06/2025

It is thanks to the generosity of the people and businesses of Penkridge and surrounding areas that we have a community defribrillator fund. We use this to strategically place defibrillators and protective/secure cabinets around the area, and to maintain them (with things like new batteries).

This week the community fund has been used to install a brand new insulated cabinet at Dunston Village Hall. This replaces a very old, rusty and leaking steel cabinet.

Our sincere thanks to Peter at Penkridge Tv & Electrical ltd for installing the cabinet in his own time.

The new illuminated and highly visible cabinet contains an automated defibrillator and bleed kit. In an emergency try to remain calm and call 999, the ambulance operations centre will provide directions to the nearest cabinet and the access code.

24/06/2025

Did you know that a heart attack is different to a cardiac arrest? This post from the Resus Council UK explains the difference.

If someone is in cardiac arrest then their heart has stopped and CPR is needed to give them a chance of survival. CPR should be continued until medial help arrives.

A patient suffering from a heart attack is likely to be conscious and will be breathing (albeit with some discomfort possibly). They’ll need prompt medical attention, but not CPR.

14/06/2025

We’re at the PJFC fun day at at The Monckton, and you can’t miss us! We’re first on your left as you come in the entrance…

Come and say hi to our Community First Responder, Simon, being assisted by his son, Sam, today. Find out more about community response, try out CPR, practice using an automated defibrillator and know how to help a choking patient.

And we’ve got some Staffordshire Lottery giveaways too!