A defibrillator that was stolen from Haylands Primary School in Ryde some 2-and-a-half-years ago has been found by local children.
The life-saving piece of equipment was taken from outside the primary school on Bettesworth Road in October 2016, which left the local community, staff and the ambulance in a state of shock with huge disappointment.
Thankfully, the Isle of Wight NHS Trust Ambulance Service was in a position at the time to be able to replace the device, meaning the Island community was once again provided with a 24/7 Public Access Defibrillator at the site.
Now, the stolen defibrillator has been handed in to St Mary’s Hospital after being found under a bush by children playing football. The life-saving piece of equipment is currently undergoing maintenance to see if it is still usable.
Stealing or vandalising a Public Access Defibrillator (PAD) can mean that someone dies. When someone goes into cardiac arrest (this means they are unconscious and not breathing normally) their survival rate without a defibrillator is likely to be less than 7%, however, this can increase up to 74% with early defibrillation.
Every minute you delay defibrillation to someone who needs it, their chance of survival decreases by 10%. The first 3 minutes of a cardiac arrest are the most crucial; when someone rings 999 for the Ambulance their system automatically flags up the nearest defibrillator within a 200 metre radius.
There are currently over 400 known defibrillators across the Island and many of these are accessible 24/7. Some are in rural areas, others in town centres and some are within businesses, residential/nursing homes, dental practices and medical/health centres.
If you ever see anyone maliciously tampering with a Public Access Defibrillator then report it to the Police immediately – your call could save someone’s life.
You can find your nearest defibrillator on an interactive map at https://www.heartsafe.org.uk/AED-Locations. Some privately owned defibrillators are not listed here but are with the ambulance service.
