Why buy a defibrillator and register it with your local ambulance trust
Background
Of the ½ million deaths in the UK annually, roughly 25% were avoidable by medical intervention. The two biggest contributors of to these preventable early deaths are cancer and heart disease. Cardio Vascular issues account for over 60,000 early deaths per year.
How you can help
The chances of survival decrease by 10% for every minute without CPR and defibrillation. Speed is critical. In all practical cases, first aid is literally the difference for the person concerned.
Two key initiatives can make a big difference:
- Publically accessible defibrillators
- People trained in CPR
Public Access Defibrillators
In 2015 the government set aside £1m to seed the scheme for public access defibrillators, that is equipment available to be used by members of the public on an acutely ill patient as part of the first aid process.
Your local ambulance trust maintains a register of where PADs are located, and in the event of a 999 call provide directions to it.
What is needed is for many more businesses to contribute to the network of PADs by buying one and registering its availability – which can be office hours only.
More about Cardiac Arrest and Defibrillation
Cardiac arrest is when someone’s heart stops pumping blood around the body and they stop breathing normally. The most common cause is abnormal heart rhythm called ventricular fibrillation (VF).
Giving an electric shock through the chest wall, by using defibrillator is the only way a person can recover from a cardiac arrest. This can be done in the ambulance, or at hospital, or it can be done by a member of the public at the scene of a cardiac arrest if there is a community defibrillator nearby.
Who can use a Defibrillator
You need no training to use a defibrillator. The device tells you step by step what to do. It only shocks the patient when it detects one is required. Anyone can use a defibrillator.
The UK population needs employers to help save lives by stepping up to their corporate social responsibility and provide defibrillators both for their own staff, and critically also make them available for public access by registering them with the local ambulance trust.
Help save lives and buy a defibrillator now.