Program Overview

The EHS Medical First Response (MFR) program is a provincial-based program that serves to enhance pre-hospital patient care provided by the Emergency Health Services system in Nova Scotia. Beyond the lifesaving instructions provided by the EHS Medical Communications Officer, a Medical First Responder is often the first physical contact that the patient has with an individual who can offer some form of medical assistance. This assistance can range anywhere from a person who knows First Aid and CPR to an organization that is certified as a Medical First Response agency.

Medical First Responders are volunteers throughout the province trained to provide advanced medical First Aid to the residents of their communities. In addition, all registered EHS MFR agencies have at least one Automatic Electronic Defibrillator (AED) so that they can provide early defibrillation before the paramedics arrive on scene.