Celebrating 10 years of Community Cardiac Responders Saving Lives

The Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) is celebrating 10 years of Community Cardiac Responders (CCRs), volunteers who deliver lifesaving care in the critical first moments of an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

Over the past year alone, CCRs have responded to 1,381 call outs, providing vital early intervention before ambulance crews arrive.

CCR groups were first introduced in the Grampian region through the Sandpiper Wildcat project in 2016. The initiative has since expanded to Dumfries and Galloway in 2025, reflecting the growing impact of community-based emergency response. The programme began as a collaboration between the Scottish Ambulance Service, Sandpiper Trust, BASICS Scotland, and the Resuscitation Research Group at the University of Edinburgh.

In 2021, CCRs were fully integrated into the Scottish Ambulance Service and are now supported and coordinated by the Service’s Community Resilience Team.

Lindsay Stewart, Loch Ken Trust Manager and Glenkens CCR Group Founder, said: “I’m really enjoying being part of the group, getting to know everyone and supporting each other. Having the opportunity to help others and support our community has been really rewarding.

“Being a Cardiac Community Responder fits around your life well and if you’re interested in becoming a CCR, we are currently looking for new volunteers.”

As well as supporting patients and families in their time of greatest need, the programme has inspired many volunteers to pursue careers in healthcare.

In 2017, Lewis Moggach was the youngest responder to join Wildcats at just 18 years old and has subsequently joined the Service as a paramedic before becoming a team leader.

Speaking of his journey from CCR to SAS Team Leader, Lewis said: “Becoming a Wildcat Responder flipped my life plan on its head in the best possible way. At the time I was in college studying music and planned to become a teacher.

“But after my first call out, seeing the impact that was made to the patient and their family, I got the bug to help people. So, I joined SAS in 2018 as a Student Technician and have worked my way up to Team Leader of Huntly Station.

“You could say it runs in the family as all of us are in the medical field including my mum Alison who has been in the NHS for 37 years, joining SAS in 2020, and her interest in Wildcats is what inspired me to join.”

Michael Dickson, Chief Executive, Scottish Ambulance Service said: “Volunteers are vital to the chain of survival in Scotland. Community Cardiac Responders respond to out of hospital cardiac arrests in their community in the vital first few minutes before an ambulance crew arrives.

“Along with our Community First Responders (CFRs), our Community Cardiac Responders play a vital role in their communities and we are thankful to every single one of them.”

If you are interested in becoming a Community Cardiac Responder, you can find out more here.