Exciting volunteering opportunities have arisen within South Western Ambulance NHS Foundation Trust for Community First Responders to join Community First Responder schemes across BSW (BANES, Swindon and Wiltshire).
We are particularly interested in hearing from people who live and/or work in and around the following areas:
Malmesbury, Devizes, Ludgershall, Westbury, Warminster, Amesbury, Tisbury, Ramsbury, Paulton and Calne.
Please be aware, if there is not currently a Community First Responder scheme running within a 3 mile radius of your home postcode you may not be short listed. Should you wish to respond from your work place as well as or instead of your home address, please detail this in the additional information section of the application form.
A Community First Responder (CFR) scheme is made up of a group of trained volunteers who, within the community in which they live or work, attend emergency calls on behalf of South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust to provide patient care, including basic life support, until the arrival of an emergency ambulance.
Applicants will have a good all round education; a full driving licence held for at least one year, with no more than 6 current penalty points and have access to a vehicle with current tax, MOT and insurance for your use.
As a volunteer CFR you would provide this community based service willingly and without pay. This role is highly rewarding and offers opportunities to meet new people and learn valuable lifesaving skills through the training provided by South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust. When applying for this position, please bear in mind that you must be able to attend one of the interview dates and all of the training course dates.
Interviews are scheduled to be held during the week commencing Monday 28 th September 2026. The training course location is SWASFT Methuen Park, Chippenham and is held over three weekends as follows:
Saturday 17 th October 2026 & Sunday 18 th October 2026
Saturday 24 th October 2026 & Sunday 25 th October 2026
Saturday 7 th November 2026 & Sunday 8 th November 202
If you are unable to make all of the training days please do not apply for this intake. The next intake is provisionally planned for Spring 2027, please get in touch if you would like to register your interest for a later course.
We take all the steps needed to deliver the most compassionate patient care possible whilst also providing an enjoyable and safe place to work and volunteer. We actively promote a positive set of behaviours as being key to our performance both individually and collectively. Our recruitment, selection and screening processes are designed to uphold these standards and we invite all our candidates to actively share with us through these processes how they will bring these behaviours to life.
Following shortlisting, applicants will be invited to attend a formal interview whereby they will be expected to have some knowledge of the role and South Western Ambulance NHS Foundation Trust. Candidates will be required to attain the Level 3 Award for First Responders on Scene during training in order to complete the recruitment process.
For further information about this role please see attached the job description and person specification attached.
Please do however re register your interest to be notified of future recruitment campaigns: https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=1Jr8HAsL0ECdxOdKjT0WUjryOBEWEoFGoolRy68IBA1UNU5ZRU9YUDBDUEFWQkdaRkhNUUtDQkg2UCQlQCN0PWcu&route=shorturl
To make your application stand out it is vital you include what would make you a exceptional Community First Responder and how you meet the person specification for the role.
More information including a video is available on our website: https://www.swast.nhs.uk/volunteer-recruitment
Following shortlisting, applicants will be invited to attend a formal interview whereby they will be expected to have some knowledge of the role and South Western Ambulance NHS Foundation Trust. Candidates will be required to attain the Level 3 Award for First Responders on Scene during training in order to complete the recruitment process.
For further information about this role please see attached the job description and person specification attached.
Please do however re register your interest to be notified of future recruitment campaigns: https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=1Jr8HAsL0ECdxOdKjT0WUjryOBEWEoFGoolRy68IBA1UNU5ZRU9YUDBDUEFWQkdaRkhNUUtDQkg2UCQlQCN0PWcu&route=shorturl
To make your application stand out it is vital you include what would make you a exceptional Community First Responder and how you meet the person specification for the role.
Please be aware, if there is not currently a Community First Responder scheme running within a close proximity to home postcode you may not be short listed.
More information including a video is available on our website: https://www.swast.nhs.uk/volunteer-recruitment
