The Killarney Cardiac Response Unit is a voluntary Unit of approximately 40 volunteers, from all sectors of society, who respond to 999/112 emergency Cardiac Phone calls. 

We are activated once a Cardiac call is made to Ambulance control and cover an area of 8km from the centre of Killarney Town. The Responders have a Pager/Radio on them which is linked in with a control phone through the National Ambulance Service. 

We work alongside and under the control of the National Ambulance Service. We are not here to replace the Ambulance Service but to complement them by providing care and utilising those vital few minutes as every second counts, until The National Ambulance Service arrive on scene.  

An out of Hospital Cardiac arrest has the worst possible outcome for survival, mainly because resuscitation is often delayed or not given. It is Vital that resuscitation is started as soon as possible following a cardiac arrest.

A sequence of steps has been developed to provide the best possible chance for survival for a patient with a cardiac arrest, these are described as the links in the chain of survival, and like any chain, the chain of survival is only as strong as the weakest link. And so each link is of equal value and importance.

The chain of Survival

• Early Access: “If no one makes that phone call or delay in calling 999/112”

• Early CPR

• Early Defibrillation

• Early ALS (Advanced Life Support)

• Early Post Resuscitation Care

• Recovery

Since August 2015 we have responded to over 1200 emergency calls.