They’re teachers, police officers, office workers, parents and retirees but this Volunteers’ Week, South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb) is highlighting those who are going beyond their day jobs.
SECAmb volunteers are pivotal to how the Trust cares for its communities and as highlighted in its recently launched Volunteering and Community Resilience Strategy, SECAmb is keen to build its volunteer workforce to help respond faster, support patients more effectively and save more lives.
So, this Volunteer’s Week, we’re celebrating the remarkable over 400 volunteers who choose to step forward for their communities and help save as many lives as possible.
For Crawley Community First Responder, Kim, volunteering has always been part of who she is. So, when she discovered SECAmb was looking for CFRs, she saw an opportunity to make a difference even closer to home. Thirteen years later, she’s still responding to emergencies in her community.
For Kim, it’s the human moments that stay with her.
“I was on call with a CFR colleague as a buddy and we were responding from Telford Place in Crawley. We received a C2 call for an elderly female with breathing difficulties in Pease Pottage…my home village!
“We were first on scene and, as I realised that I knew the patient, I went in first. The 91-year-old lady who, although alone, struggling to breathe and very frightened, managed to whisper to me that she was so very glad to see someone she knew and her relief was almost palpable. I did not save a life that day but made a huge difference to one lonely, frightened 91-year-old lady in my own village…that was a very humbling experience.”
The sense of wanting to help is something fellow Crawley CFR, Neil, also shares.
Neil, who has volunteered with the Trust since 2013 alongside his role as a Sussex Police officer, was inspired to join after witnessing a sudden death years earlier while working in a different job.
“Many years ago, in a different employment, a customer came into my branch and simply collapsed and died in front of me. I tried to help. Although, the ambulance crews told me they were likely dead before they hit the floor, I did feel, however, like I could have done more.”
Today, Neil dedicates his free time to supporting people in his community and helping ensure that no one faces an emergency alone.
Volunteering doesn’t always mean responding directly to patients. SECAmb has many other opportunities to volunteer including our Community Resilience Support Volunteer role. For Fleet Administrator, Victoria, supporting ambulance crews through her role has been equally rewarding.
Victoria provides refreshments and welfare support to operational colleagues during demanding shifts and long waits at hospitals.
“Supporting our operational colleagues in green while they are out doing amazing work and making a real difference to people’s lives is incredibly rewarding,” Victoria said. “Providing sweet treats and drinks to crews helps keep them going during long shifts, especially while they are at A&E often dealing with stressful and complex medical situations. Even small acts of support can lift morale, show appreciation and make a genuine difference to the wellbeing of the teams caring for our communities.”
Alongside her NHS role, Dual Qualified Senior Emergency Nurse and Care Practitioner, Dawn, volunteers as a Community First Responder (CFR) across Canterbury and the coastal area. Drawing on her extensive experience, including managing minor injury units, she plays a key role in delivering high-quality care to patients in her community.
For Dawn, the motivation is simple: “I volunteer as a CFR because I make a difference to someone’s bad day.”
CFRs already play a growing role in responding to non-injury falls, helping patients stay safely at home and reducing the pressure on ambulance crews, an approach SECAmb’s new Volunteering and Community Resilience Strategy aims to build on.
Godalming-based CFR, Tessa, says seeing the direct impact on both patients and colleagues for these types of calls is what keeps her volunteering.
“Every time I get a patient off the floor and discharged through the hub, that means they’ve got back to normal life a bit more quickly and with a bit less fuss.
“It means the ambulance service doesn’t have to send a double crewed ambulance out and that helps to take pressure off the Trust, meaning someone might get a meal break on time or not finish late and that makes me feel great, so that’s why I volunteer for SECAmb.”
Having first started as a volunteer in 2013, Jonathan retrained as a CFR when he retired in 2024 serving his local community in Edenbridge.
Jonathan is passionate about emergency care and not only does he give up his time as a CFR but also teaches emergency care to GP practices in his local area and South London and he shared that being a volunteer helps support this by being able to give a pre-hospital perspective to staff in these areas.
For many volunteers, the connection to their community is personal.
Uckfield CFR, Andrew, says being there for neighbours during life’s most frightening moments is what matters most.
“These are our roads, our towns, our villages, our neighbours - and sometimes they’re our friends. One of the most powerful moments is often very small. It’s when somebody looks at you after a frightening few minutes and simply says ‘thank you’. I can’t fix every emergency, but I can be there, stay calm and help make those first few minutes count.”
This Volunteers’ Week, we want to say a heartfelt thank you to every volunteer supporting SECAmb and the communities we serve. To find out more about our Community Resilience team and future opportunities, please visit our webpage here.