Motorcycle responder

Motorcycle responders work in busy, built-up areas where it can be difficult for an ambulance or a car to get through. They are able to reach patients quickly and start to give life-saving treatment while an ambulance is on the way.

All single responders have been fully trained to work on their own. Our motorcycles carry the same life-saving equipment as ambulances, including a defibrillator—a machine used to restart a patient’s heart when they have had a cardiac arrest.

2021 marked 30 years since the Motorcycle Response Unit was first launched at London Ambulance Service as a trial scheme.

Back in 1991, the motorcycle paramedics proved how useful they could be in reaching patients quickly in busy and congested areas.

They are often first paramedics on scene – most notably when they responded to the Westminster terror attack in 2017.

Motorcycle paramedics are at the moment based out of Croydon, Ilford and Waterloo but new technology on the bikes means that riders can now respond to calls throughout London.