Volunteer Community First Responder, Worthing, South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust

Some people support the NHS through their profession; others give their time freely, year after year, out of a deep commitment to the communities around them. Sally Holmes, a Volunteer Community First Responder in Worthing, has spent more than a decade doing exactly that — offering urgent help when it is needed most and teaching hundreds of people the skills that save lives.

As a Community First Responder with South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SECAmb), Sally has given well over 600 hours of her time and attended 189 incidents in a single year, responding to emergencies in homes, workplaces and public spaces across her community. But her impact reaches far beyond the calls she attends. Sally is driven by a passion for ensuring more people feel confident to act in a cardiac arrest — especially when the patient is a woman.

Women are 27% less likely to receive CPR from bystanders than men, and Sally has become a powerful advocate for tackling that stigma. Through her support for the ‘Bra Off, Defib On’ campaign, she works to break down misconceptions and empower people to act quickly and appropriately, regardless of gender. Her training sessions have equipped hundreds of individuals with the confidence and skills needed to save a life.

“As a volunteer with South East Coast Ambulance Service, I see first-hand how empowering CPR training can be,” Sally says. “Many people are surprised by how simple it is, and how just a few minutes of learning can prepare them to act in a real emergency. It’s essential that we address the barriers that stop women from receiving CPR and defibrillation. By raising awareness of campaigns like ‘Bra Off, Defib On’, we can help people feel confident to act quickly and appropriately, and ultimately save more lives.”

As the NHS marks its 78th birthday and the first anniversary of the 10‑Year Health Plan, Sally’s story is a reminder that transformation is not only about new technology or redesigned pathways — it is also about people who give their time, their skill and their compassion to keep their communities safe.