Shankill & Ballybrack Community First Responders

Serving the communities of Bray (north), Shankill, Loughlinstown, Ballybrack, Killiney, Glenageary, Cabinteely, Cherrywood, Carrickmines, Ballyogan and Kilternan

Shankill & Ballybrack Community First Responders (CFR) is a group of locally-based volunteers trained to attend medical emergencies in our local area.

We are part of a nation wide network of CFR groups tasked by the National Ambulance Services (NAS) to provide a rapid, community-based response to life threatening, medical emergencies. Typically, we can attend an incident within minutes of a 112/999 call being received.

Our group was originally established in 2016 and registered as a charity in 2018. Over time, our service areas have expanded to include Shankill, Ballybrack, Bray North, Loughlinstown, Killiney, Glenageary, Cherrywood, Cabinteely, Carrickmines, Ballyogan and Kilternan.

We respond to calls involving cardiac arrest, heart attack, stroke and choking. We also respond to first-aid-related calls.

Our role is to help stabilise the patient and provide the appropriate care, including, if required, defibrillation. Our responders aim to arrive in the first vital minutes of an incident, sometimes before an ambulance arrives, providing the quickest possible treatment for the patient.

Our group has three main aims:

Increase community awareness, knowledge and skill of certain medical emergencies,
Install Public Access Defibrillators in strategic areas across the communities we serve,
Recruit and train local volunteers as Community First Responders

Our group is funded through donations from the public and local businesses, group fundraising activities, and grant awards from Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council and the HSE/National Lottery.