Access to a defibrillator can help save a life
As our year of giving back continues we turn our attention to Heartsafe, who work with communities across the UK to install public access defibrillators for faster access to emergency medical treatment.
Supporting defibrillator access in Portishead
Our Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) business who provide Ultrasonic qualification and inspection services from their Bristol based office have pledged to support their local Heartsafe partnership with The Portishead Lions Club.
The project has seen local Lions, residents and businesses spend several years fundraising to place public access defibrillators throughout the town.
As lockdown restrictions ease, the team will be fundraising to raise donations to help The Portishead Lions Club with their ongoing campaign to maintain the devices – ensuring they’re ready to use in case of an emergency.
What are defibrillators?
A defibrillator is a life saving device that can deliver a high energy shock to someone who is in cardiac arrest. Traditionally these devices were held in ambulances ready to treat patients as soon as they arrived on site. Over recent years though publicly accessible defibrillators have been developed, which can be installed at busy locations throughout towns and villages across the UK to provide faster access.
Known as Public Access Defibrillators (PAD) or Automated External Defibrillators (AED), anyone who calls the emergency services to help someone in cardiac arrest can use the equipment, with no prior training required.
Knowing what to do
If you need to help someone in cardiac arrest, the first vital thing you should do is call 999 and ask for the ambulance service.
If you’re familiar with CPR you should start administering it, but the emergency services call handler will also be able to guide you or a bystander to the nearest defibrillator and guide you through how to deliver a shock.
Insight from the British Heart Foundation identified that for every minute it takes for someone to gain access to a defibrillator and deliver a shock, their chances of survival reduce by up to 10% – making it vital to have a good coverage of devices across the UK.
The helpful video below from the British Heart Foundation explains more about the vital device:
You can also find more about how to deliver CPR.
Knowing where your nearest public access defibrillators is
The team at Heartsafe provides a searchable map to help you locate the nearest defibrillators in your area.
You can visit the map through the link below: