Training

The EFAR System

“The Emergency First Aid Responder (EFAR) system is a concept that is being implemented in South Africa by the Western Cape EMS and the Academic Division of Emergency Medicine of Cape Town in partnership with local communities to establish prehospital emergency care in those areas.

The EFAR system is both a passive and a coordinated process to deal with emergencies in a low-resource area. By training large amounts of people, EFARs are spread throughout the community and they can be called upon by their peers during an emergency, may already be present at an emergency scene, or can be dispatched via SMS from a communications centre or Head EFAR. To provide a more structured response, EFARs also cooperate with local EMTs and paramedics to provide care for emergency patients. Additionally, all EFAR activity in a community is mediated by at least one Community Adviser, to ensure local appropriateness and adaptation of the system to an area’s context.

EFARs provide the frontline of emergency care in their communities; they can provide an instantaneous response to emergencies.”

To read more on the EFAR system and how to get involved in your area, please continue to https://www.efarsystem.com/about.html

EFAR training in our service area
For members of our community, Community Medics facilitates a 1-day EFAR training course, teaching participants how to deal with most medical emergencies. All we ask in return is that participants pay it forward by helping save the life of another person in our community should they come across a medical emergency.

Whilst the course is practical in nature, it is insufficient to meet workplace First Aid Health & Safety requirements.

Community involvement

The communities in which we operate have active neighbourhood watches and armed response companies, and Community Medics frequently responds to calls from these organisations for medical emergencies. We also assist the South African Police Service, Community Police Forum and Law Enforcement.

We have good relationships with other local charities and we are actively involved in teaching and training at these organisations and will send our response vehicle to their events.