Why it’s essential to have an accessible defibrillator
First responders regularly feedback to us that they are checking defibs in communities and are finding – particularly if they are in a social or sports club – that they are hidden in a back office or behind a bar. Therefore it’s a struggle to find and access them in an emergency.
Here at Turtle defib cabinets we champion the accessibility of a defibrillator – after all, if you have invested in one, its so important it can be accessed easily and quickly in a time of emergency.
Every second counts
With over 300,000 cardiac arrests in the UK outside of a hospital, and less than one in ten victims of cardiac arrest survive to be discharged from hospital – the longer someone is in cardiac arrest and untreated, the lower their chance of survival.* Literally, every second counts.
Do defibrillators really make a difference?
Absolutely! In Jan 2020 the London Ambulance service released the following stats –
When a Public Defibrillator was used by a bystander and at least one shock was delivered to patients, the survival rate was more than five times higher (57.1%)
So how do I make the defibrillator accessible?
The best way to make a defibrillator accessible is to put it in a robust defib cabinet.
This can either be located indoors or outdoors, in a high traffic area – for example, attached to a shop or the side of a sports club house. If inside, it needs to be near a door, but we recommend they are located outside if the inside is locked outside of normal hours.
If you are unsure about whether it needs to be locked or not, check out our blog here on what we advise depending on the situation.
How do I go about funding a defibrillator and cabinet?
Check out our article here, which gives you some ideas. We sell both defib and cabinet packages, so do get in contact if you want some advise.
Finally, always make sure your defib is registered, so when someone rings the emergency services, they can point them in the direction of your cabinet if its nearest to the person in cardiac arrest. We have an area on our website for registering your defib and cabinet, so it can help save a life.
If you have any questions, please do get in touch with us here or give us a call on 01327 22 07 22, we are more than happy to help.