Norfolk emergency responder partnership reaches 500-call milestone

The East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) and Norfolk Accident Rescue Service (NARS) launched the Emergency Responder scheme in October 2025, which sees trained volunteers dispatched to appropriate 999 calls directly by EEAST emergency control rooms, providing potentially life-saving care in the critical minutes before an ambulance arrives.

Incidents attended include cardiac arrests, serious medical emergencies and traumatic injuries.

The NARS Emergency Responder team is made up of around 20 trained volunteers, including police officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians and medical students.

Since the programme began, volunteers have been dispatched to over 500 incidents, made 354 patient contacts and achieved an 86% on-scene attendance rate.
Responders have contributed 942 volunteer hours, typically completing shifts of around 8.5 hours.

In 87% of the incidents they have attended, they arrived first on scene, and for Category 1 calls – the most serious medical emergencies – they arrived on average six minutes ahead of EEAST resources.

The model builds on similar volunteer responder schemes proven elsewhere in the region, including the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Emergency Critical Care Scheme (BHECCS), where volunteer clinicians support ambulance services by delivering enhanced pre-hospital emergency care within their communities.

Carl Smith from NARS said: “Reaching more than 500 callouts in just a few months is a fantastic achievement and a testament to the commitment and professionalism of our Emergency Responder volunteers. These individuals give up their own time to attend some of the most serious emergencies in our communities, arriving quickly and providing care in those first vital moments before additional help arrives.

“The success of schemes like BHECCS shows the value of volunteer responder models, and we’re proud of the positive impact our team is already making for patients across Norfolk.”

Tom Barker, Head of Co-Response for EEAST, said: “Norfolk is a large and often very rural county, and NARS emergency responders provide invaluable support to EEAST in getting urgent care to our patients quickly. In situations where minutes count, NARS responders are delivering vital early intervention and making a real difference.”

Notes for editors

NARS, a charity that relies on public support to fund its life-saving work, was established in 1970. The Emergency Responder programme complements the charity’s wider team of volunteer doctors, nurses, critical care paramedics, paramedics and first responders.

NARS volunteer emergency responders have logged 991 hours with EEAST to date, completing 124 shifts with an average duration of eight hours.