first responder

First responders - i.e. the "first responders" - are trained first aiders who are called out by the emergency call centre 144 in the event of sudden circulatory arrest in order to bridge the time until the emergency services arrive.

First responders are in the immediate vicinity of the incident

A first responder is located in the immediate vicinity of the incident and is on site within a few minutes of receiving the emergency call. The first responder is able to perform appropriate cardiac massage and, if necessary, artificial respiration, as well as defibrillate immediately with a layman's defibrillator (AED).

Time is brain

If the first responder with an AED arrives more than 10-15 minutes after the emergency call, even a time gain of several minutes compared to the ambulance service is hardly useful any more. For every minute of delayed defibrillation, the chances of survival decrease by 10%.

In some cantons in Switzerland, there are networks of first responders. The best known are in the canton ofTicino (Fondazione Ticino Cuore) with over 3,700 members and in the canton of Bern (First Responder Bern) with 1,600 active first responders.

Video from SRF 10vor10