We are grateful to have one of the highest performing ambulance services in the world. However, due to the overwhelming demand for an ambulance in Metropolitan Sydney, more than 60% of the time, you will wait over 15 minutes for assistance in a life threatening emergency. In urgent cases that are not immediately life threatening, you could wait over an hour. With highly trained and equipped volunteers spread throughout the community, CHS makes quicker response times a reality. As well, by offering a First-Line service with telephone advice, nearby responders, triage and referral we hope to assist the healthcare system by avoiding unnecessary trips to hospital when appropriate.

No. CHS offers a comprehensive service that includes a First-Line Medical Service.
In addition, CHS provides:
- Telephone medical advice
- First-aid coverage at communal events
- Consultation to community sites and organisations regarding their first-aid equipment, processes and procedures
- Provision of both FREE and nationally accredited First-Aid and CPR training

CHS’s First-Line Medical Service is especially unique as we are able to draw from the largest possible pool of volunteers in our community. This includes healthcare professionals and highly trained first responders. This is only made possible because we value inclusivity and diversity, accepting both men and women volunteers and volunteers of all levels of religious observance. This inclusivity allows us to engage a highly skilled team of Medical Advisors, enhancing our scope of clinical care for the community. Additionally, the partnerships we have forged in the community, with the likes of CSG, JewishCare and others, allow us to leverage existing resources and infrastructure and operate in a highly efficient way.

If you are in area:
- Register your household to be part of the initial roll-out of this service
- Keep you and your family updated about our service and our community expansion
- Give us a greater understanding of the spread of the community that will call us
- Receive a welcome pack from us
If you are out of area:
- Register so that we can see the demand in your areas and where our expansion priorities should lie.
- Stay updated with CHS’s service offerings, progression and expansion.

CHS can be called 24/7 in any medical situation where you feel helpless and need assistance; from something seemingly minor to a medical emergency.
Here are some scenarios that might be helpful to understand our service:
1. You have been playing sport on a weeknight and hit your head. You feel okay but your headache is getting worse. You’re unsure what to do, so you call CHS who can advise you of the next best steps based on your symptoms.
2. Your 82 year old grandmother has had another fall and is on the floor, seemingly uninjured. She will spend the next 45-90 minutes lying on the floor unless someone can assess her and help get her up. CHS sends responders who are able to assess, escalate the incident if needed, and if not, help your grandmother off the floor and provide her with follow-up advice.
3. You’re out for a walk when your father suddenly collapses. You call CHS. The CHS dispatcher triages the incident and connects you to 000 on the same call, whilst simultaneously sending a CHS  team in the area to your location. The CHS responders are equipped with life-saving equipment, including a defibrillator, and arrive on the scene in minutes to assist.

Bellevue Hill
Bronte
Bondi
Bondi Junction
Double Bay
Dover Heights
North Bondi
Point Piper
Queens Park
Rose Bay
Vaucluse
Watsons Bay
Waverley
Woollahra

CHS is in the first stage of our roll out. Our vision is to have first responders on call across all locations where community members reside, including South Eastern Sydney and the North Shore. Household registrations enable us to identify areas that require our service.

CHS does not replace seeing your GP. However, we are able to advise if your issue can wait until you can see a GP, if we need to send our highly trained healthcare professionals or advanced first responders to you, and whether we also need to add 000 into your call with us.

CHS is a community run charity, funded by donors who see the value in the services we offer. There is no cost to our services, however we welcome donations to support our ongoing work and expansion.