Welcome to Red Horse Vale First Responders
Our mission is simple: saving lives and building stronger, more resilient communities through emergency care, life saving training and community defibrillators.
We are a South Warwickshire charity dedicated to delivering emergency medical care. In partnership with West Midlands Ambulance Service University NHS Trust, we respond to 999 calls – providing critical treatment in those vital minutes before an ambulance arrives.
This is achieved through our volunteer Community First Responders who respond to 999 calls. Our Responders are highly trained volunteers who provide immediate care and support in emergency situations, arriving before the ambulance resource 85% of the time. Their quick response can make the difference between life and death, ensuring that those in need receive crucial care as swiftly as possible. The dedication and commitment of our responders are at the heart of everything we do.
Our team covers 230 square miles, we use our local knowledge and proximity to reach emergencies quickly, often making a crucial difference in the outcome.
As a registered charity, we receive no central or NHS funding. Every piece of equipment, our uniform, and our life-saving response car is funded through donations and community support. Our team is made up entirely of volunteers, giving their time to respond, train, and fundraise.
This is our purpose. We treat. We teach. We get there. We support our local community and each other.
2 WEEKS TO GO! Until we are at Kineton Victorian Evening and we are so proud to be one of their chosen charities again for 2025! So, come along, have a look around, grab a hot chocolate and come and chat to our team who will be there. 🚑We will be on call throughout the event, so please be considerate of where and how you park. #communityengagement #emergencycare #communitydriven #turningoutforashoult #supportsmallcharities #lifesavers #emergencycarecommunitydriven #christmas2025
Some of our team went along to support Wellesbourne WI with their Bystanders Can Be Lifesavers session on Wednesday evening! A superb session held to show the amazing WI group how easy it can be to help someone who is unresponsive and potentially not breathing. With the launch of our new Community Training and Engagement team, we will be posting more information on how you can book us to come along and teach you how to save a life or to speak about our incredible charity and what we do in the community. Keep an eye out, or to find out more information in the meantime, head to our new website - https://redhorsevalecfr.org.uk/community-training/ #emergencycarecommunitydriven #CommunityFirstResponders #SavingLives #wellesbourne #womensinstitute #communitytraining
From Loxley Fireworks 🎆 to Southam Remembrance Day Parade our team has had a lovely weekend supporting two community events in our annual calendar. Loxley Fireworks was a lovely evening supported by Hilary, Martina and Rachel, alongside John from Midlands Ambulance Group. A brilliant bonfire and Fireworks display, that is very well attended and takes top spot in our opinion for a brilliant local Fireworks display. Thank you John for all of your support throughout 2025. And then onto Southam Remembrance parade, where Hilary and Rachel supported the occasion with medical support during the morning. It’s an honour to play such a small part in such a significant event. We are proud to support Southam Town Council with this. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them. #community #volunteers #emergencycare #emergencycarecommunitydriven #remembranceday2025
The team have been busy this week - so what have we been up to? 📅 Monday - 🎡 Southam MOP with Hilary and Martina booked onto RC997 and James booked on RC8163. Meeting up with Southam Police and Stratford Police along the way Along with some amazing cake, a meeting about fundraising projects and a number of call outs 🚨 📅 Tuesday/Wednesday and Thursday - 📟 🚑 Hilary and Martina booking on between themselves to provide as much cover as possible to Southanm and the surrounding areas. ⚡️ Cath & Zoe checking defibs and catching up with responsible parties to provide support. 🤝🏽 James meeting with a potential new member of the team. ❤️ Keith updating our new website ✍️ Sarah catching up on agenda items and meeting updates 👩🏫 Nikki and Becca discussing Community and Engagement ideas (more to come on this) 📅 Friday - James and Emily booked onto RC997 and headed to Caffeine & Machine and then got pulled into Stratford, Loxley and Chesterton for multiple 999 calls. With the weekend looking to be covered by Hilary on call on RC997 again. Its been a busy week and our team do everything completely voluntary! So if you see them, give them a wave 👋 #communitysupport #firstresponder #rhvcommunityresponders #rhvcommunitydefibrillators #emergencycarecommunitydriven #emergencycare #communitydriven
✨ What a night! ✨ We were honoured to attend the awards as finalists for Charity of the Year, surrounded by so many inspiring organisations doing incredible work in their communities. 🙌 We might not have taken home the trophy, but being recognised as finalists means the world to us, and to our amazing team of volunteers who give their time to help others in need. A huge thank you to everyone who continues to support us. Together, we’re saving lives and building stronger, more resilient communities. ❤️ Congratulations to our table partners Posture and Poise, Charity of the Year winners @creative arts and thank you to Stratford Herald for having us! #emergencycarecommunitydriven #MakingADifference #redhorsecfr #southwarwickshire #supportsmallcharities #lifesavers #rhvcommunityresponders #RHVcommunitydefibrillators
🚨We have attended over 2000 callouts! 🚑 As of Friday, 3rd October 2025, we attended our 2000th 999 call to support our local communities! This is a huge achievement for us and goes to show just how necessary our services can be. James, our Chair, says, "We may not be the busiest CFR Team, but we certainly cover a significant rural patch across South Warwickshire and just being available to support those rural communities when they call for an ambulance is something we are especially proud of. I am confident that my team, past and present, has saved numerous lives and alleviated suffering in plenty of other cases!" #supportsmallcharities #southwarwickshire #makingadifference #emergencycarecommunitydriven #redhorsecfr #firstresponders #lifesavers #MakingADifference #rhvcommunityresponders
It's World Mental Health Day today. Have you ever wondered what this can mean for one of our team? One of our Responders shares their experience of mental health below - We often forget about the people behind the uniform, the professional, personal and family challenges they may be facing. Because in the moment when they are called to an incident and someone needs their help, they put all of that to one side in order to help their patient. We respond to call outs at all times of the day and night. I remember attending a cardiac arrest, a seemingly 'run of the mill' cardiac arrest for a 50-something year old patient one winter, a similar incident that I had seen more times than I care to count. From the shrill pager alert at 7am, the phone call to mobilise, the multiple vehicle response, the adrenaline, the chaos, the scraping of furniture to make space, the uncertainty, the effort, the defibrillator noises, the mechanical CPR noises, the family crying, the hushed discussions between clinicians, more family crying. Then the silence. Returning home about 9am to find my better half had already left for work. Then... more silence. Those who understand the chaos of an incident like this know more than ever that silence is not our friend. There was a time when welfare checks and incident debriefs were rarely mentioned in the same sentence. There was a time when CFRs were not really 'part of the green family'. So, the ambulance crews and clinicians would book clear, return to base to restock, have a chat with each other and make sure they were both alright. But CFRs used to seldom have a crewmate. So, who did we speak to? We used to have a faceless voice on the end of the phone from our dispatcher when we booked clear, but that was it. Not really someone we could confide in. Sadly, for me, it took several years before the cards came tumbling down - exposure to horrific incidents and trauma took its toll. However, things have improved. Significantly. CFR welfare is a higher priority. Mental health across the board for all health care professionals, first responders, and emergency services has adapted, allowing those who work in the field to lead the narrative as we truly know what we are exposed to. Senior leaders across the 999 services and the wider government have made it an agenda item for many years to increase support and welfare, but clearly, we still aren't quite there. Only 2 weeks ago did I hear news of an old colleague of mine taking his own life. There are many others to recognise as well, but this is not the appropriate place for it. So, my message off the back of this. Don't suffer in silence. There is no judgement, only love and support. Reach out to colleagues, Blue Light friends, family. But, if that's not right for you - The Ambulance Staff Charity 24/7 crisis phoneline - 03003730898 Blue Light Mind - Blue Light Programme | Mind https://share.google/9UibqMpxZVap00CI5 Samaritans - Any phone, anytime - 116 123 #southwarwickshire #rhvcommunityresponders #redhorsecfr #supportsmallcharities #MakingADifference #lifesavers #emergencycarecommunitydriven #WorldMentalHealthDay2025
We are pleased to announce that we have now officially taken over the management of Ettington's Community Public Access Defibrillators (CPADs) What does this mean? At our AGM in June, we announced we were focusing on 3 core elements of our work: Community Responders, Community Defibrillators and Community Training. As a result, we launched a 6-month pilot to approach select Parish Councils to see if they wanted our support. In principle, it means that we will manage the upkeep of the CPADs, ensuring they remain clean, have in-date pads, functional batteries, replacing parts as needed, making sure they are registered on The Circuit and remain ready to be used in an emergency. How can you tell if it's one of ours? We have installed stickers on each of the cabinets we are supporting to show the ones we are responsible for. This clear approach means that members of the public can reach out if they spot an issue. We also have a clear process for monthly checks to be completed by our team or nominated members of the community. As the pilot moves along, we will provide further updates and expect to compile a report that highlights our charity's wider aims, our pilot objectives and the overall outcomes. Ettington CPADs supported - Ettington Community Centre Chequers Pub Fulready Post Box Due to the Primary School having their own defibrillator inside and the restricted availability of the current cabinet within the grounds we are looking to relocate this to the SPAR shop. If anyone has contact details, we would appreciate a connection, as we have so far not had much luck! #emergencycarecommunitydriven #redhorsecfr #turningoutforashout #lifesavers #supportsmallcharities #makingadifference #southwarwickshire #firstresponders #RHVcommunitydefibrillators