Defibrillators in the Community

We were very blessed to visit the Emergency Services Show this year at the NEC in Birmingham. The works diary allowed us one day of freedom to go to this tremendous event, and boy are we glad we did!

We have long advocated the provision of defibrillators in the community, and are well aware of the numerous charities out there helping villages and towns achieve this goal.

One such charity is 'Community Heartbeat' ( www.communityheartbeat.org.uk ), and they were at the ESS 2014.

We got speaking with them, and were enthused by their passion for this critical service, so much so, that we fully hope to be able to support them in the future in any way we can.

Having a defibrillator in the community makes such a difference - a life saving difference. In my 35 years of life, I already know of 5 people who suffered SCA (Sudden Cardiac Arrest) all of whom died as a result. 4 of these people had bystanders, or family nearby at the time of their arrest.

It is tragic to note, that in not one of the mentioned cases, was CPR delivered, and neither was a AED (Automated External Defibrillator) called for.

2 were in reasonably public places, where one should like to think an AED was available.

It is impossible to say if good quality CPR, and access to a defibrillator would have made a difference in these cases, but, at least it would have provided a fighting chance of survival. As it stood, the bystanders didn't know what action to take, and death was inevitable.

On all of our First Aid Courses, we go above and beyond mentioning defibrillators, we allow our students hands on experience via one of our AED Trainers. Not to be confused with our CPR & AED courses, we sadly do not go into as much detail, but, we talk about the reasons why, then without any real training at all, throw in the AED mid CPR practice.

Our students understand the importance of this device, and are amazed at how easy it is to use it, with no previous contact.

The simple 1-2-3 approach is well established, and, in all cases, the students, if presented with a real life scenario in replacement for the training, would be able to deliver a shock if required.

The devices have significantly come down in price, as much as they have become easy to use, and the maintenance free life of each unit has increased - some offering an outstanding 3 years pads, and as much as a 6 year battery life.

In all consideration, we question why there aren't more AED's around! Businesses should invest, Local Authorities should invest, Communities should invest.

We certainly give it our stamp of approval, and look forwards to working with Community Heartbeat to deliver the knowledge, and life saving resources around the country.

www.communityheartbeat.org.uk
www.centricuk.com