The PC is having a rep from Beds Fire and Rescue on 1 May to talk about having a publicly accessible defibrillator located in the village. There is some scepticism among some members about its usefulness or practicality. What worried me was information that the ambulance service (the troubled East of England, soon to go back to being smaller units) is actually promoting this because it is struggling to meet the max time periods allowed for reaching emergencies. I haven't seen this confirmed.
Defibs sound a great idea even if we have to think through the process and do a bit of public education. But not if they are just a replacement for regular emergency services. The longstanding ORCON standards suggest ambulances on 999 calls should reach all rural areas within 17 mins and urban within 8.
The British Heart Foundation states:
For every minute that passes without defibrillation chances of survival decrease by 14 per cent. Research shows that applying a controlled shock within five minutes of collapse provides the best possible chances of survival.
More than 6,000 defibrillators have already been placed in the community since we started donating them in 1996.
Rural areas, communities with poor road networks or traffic congestion, and where large crowds gather are all places where we need defibrillators the most.
Defibs sound a great idea even if we have to think through the process and do a bit of public education. But not if they are just a replacement for regular emergency services. The longstanding ORCON standards suggest ambulances on 999 calls should reach all rural areas within 17 mins and urban within 8.
The British Heart Foundation states:
A defibrillator is a life-saving machine
that gives the heart an electric shock in some cases of cardiac
arrest. This is called defibrillation and can save lives.
Cardiac arrest is when the heart stops pumping blood around the
body. When someone has a cardiac arrest, defibrillation needs
to be prompt.For every minute that passes without defibrillation chances of survival decrease by 14 per cent. Research shows that applying a controlled shock within five minutes of collapse provides the best possible chances of survival.
Getting defibrillators into the right places
Defibrillators, also known as automated external defibrillators (AEDs), need to be placed strategically – in areas where there is a high incidence of cardiac arrest and where it's difficult for an ambulance to get quickly.More than 6,000 defibrillators have already been placed in the community since we started donating them in 1996.
Rural areas, communities with poor road networks or traffic congestion, and where large crowds gather are all places where we need defibrillators the most.
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