A new public access defibrillator has been installed at The Chatterley Whitfield Public House in Stoke-on-Trent. The AED has been registered with the local ambulance service and is available to the public 24/7.
Local community champion Holly Sproston said “I wanted to get the defibrillator because I am a major Trauma and Orthopaedic Nursing Assistant passionate about people. I am also a St John’s Ambulance First Aid volunteer who goes out on duty across the county on events and also because a friend of mine lives on the estate and her partner had a cardiac event which left her doing CPR for nearly 10 minutes alone being talked through it by the call handler, so I wanted to have one on the estate because if anything like that were to happen again then we could help to save someone’s life with an accessible defibrillator. Myself and a few others on the estate donated and we also had an anonymous donator who gave a substantial amount to it to get us to target who wants to remain anon who we thank tremendously.”
Jamie Richards, Chief Executive Officer of Stone-based charity AEDdonate, said: “We were delighted to supply an external AED (Automated External Defibrillator) at The Chatterley Whitfield Pub which is available for everyone in the area. Congratulations to Holly and everyone involved in their tremendous fundraising efforts to get the defibrillator for their community.”
AEDdonate covers the whole of the UK to raise awareness, knowledge and confidence in the safe use of defibrillators and CPR as well as fitting them within local communities.
To donate to the charity from home visit aeddonate.org.uk, or to discuss fundraising for a community defibrillator in your local area call 01785 472 224.
The chance of survival after Sudden Cardiac Arrest decreases minute by minute, but if someone is shocked with a defibrillator within 3 minutes their chance of survival increases by 70 %.
Having an AED within a 1/2-mile radius from wherever you are I believe is a must. We would welcome further communities to get in touch to see if we can help.”
If anyone dials 999 to a patient who is in cardiac arrest in the area, the caller will be advised on the location of the defibrillator and provided with the code to open the secure cabinet in which it is housed. The ambulance call assessor has the ability to talk to any caller, defibrillator trained or not, through instructions on how to use the device as well as CPR techniques. The defibrillator itself also provides voice guidance throughout and pictorial guides are also present.
If you would like more information on how you or your business can donate a defibrillator to a Community Public Access Site visit www.aeddonate.org.uk