Why have an external AED in your community/local area

Posted on 7 April 2020

Some revealing statistics on cardiac arrest:

  • Research shows there are over 30,000 cardiac arrests a year outside of hospital, 80% of which will happen in the home and 20% out in public places.
  • A cardiac arrest is when the heart malfunctions and stops completely – its basically an electrical fault. Cardiac arrest is reversible in most victims if it’s treated within a few minutes.
  • If a defibrillator is used and effective CPR is performed within 3-5 minutes of cardiac arrest, the patients chance of survival increases from 6% to 74% – defibrillators really do save lives.
  • Research conducted by the British Heart Foundation uncovered that bystanders who witness a cardiac arrest emergency only perform CPR in 4 out of 10*

Why is it essential to have one in your community?

In the last few years there has been a significant increase in the number of defibrillators in cities, towns and communities where an ambulance potentially would not arrive within 5 minutes of a person having a cardiac arrest (response times in urban areas average 11 minutes).

Volunteer members of the community are trained to use them in case of emergency.  However, once you have rung 999 and spoken to the emergency operator, they are able to walk you through how to use the defib.

How does our community go about acquiring one?

There are a number of ways you can obtain one for your community…

First point of call should be your local council.  They may well have the funding to pay for one or two in your local area, and should be on hand to support the initiative by funding the training of volunteers to use them in your locality.

Another way is to raise the money yourselves as a community, or apply for partial funding through a charity such as AED Donate or the British Heart Foundation.

And why would I need a cabinet?

A cabinet protects the defibrillator against weather elements, vandalism and can also store accessories for the defibrilliator.

Most cabinets are temperature controlled, with a window a lock or a passcode and/or an alarm, and are made to order here at Turtle Engineering.  You can choose the colour, get your branding on the cabinet, and we can help you make decisions about what you need, depending on where your cabinet will be situated.

So get in contact via our email, telephone number, or just live chat us now!

 

* Stats – BHF