The Isle of Wight has been placed 3rd in a list of the most ‘heart-safe’ authorities in England by defibshop in its annual Cardiac Coverage Report. Locally, there are 34.59 defibrillators for every 10,000 inhabitants – an 82% increase over the past 2 years – with a further 203 defibrillators having been installed since 2021/22. The average for the whole of the South East region is just 12.26 per 10,000 people. The City of London – a local authority based in the financial district which contains very few actual inhabitants – came top with 159 defibrillators for every 10,000 people, followed by the Isles of Scilly with 75. Defibshops Head of Marketing & PR, Kerry Fairhurst, commented:
“Out-of-hospital Cardiac Arrests continue to take the lives of most people who suffer one. The growth in registered defibrillators on The Circuit (National Defibrillator Network) over the last 2 years has been significant, allowing an increased chance of survival to many more individuals. “It is vital that this trend continues and Guardians ensure their unit is ready in the event of an emergency and their status is communicated with The Circuit.”
Louise Walker, Ambulance Education, Training and Engagement Lead said:
“Over the past 10 years the Isle of Wight Ambulance Service has worked hard to raise the number of public access defibrillators (PADs) on the Isle of Wight to help increase survival rates from out of hospital cardiac arrest. “We now have over 500 registered PADs on The Circuit with the Isle of Wight Ambulance Service. “We are extremely grateful for charities such as IOW defibrillators, private businesses, and groups such as The Wight Strollers who provide defibrillators for our local community, and thanks to profits from the Ambulance Service’s commercial training department, we can provide and maintain so many of the public access defibrillators on the Island. “Our Ambulance service is unique in that in the event of a cardiac arrest, if a registered defibrillator is deployed, we will replace used consumables as well as offer debriefing to those involved in the incident. “If you have a defibrillator and have not yet registered it with The Circuit please do so today.”
Anyone looking to find out more information about Defibshop should visit the website.
It’s all well and good having a defib get to someone really quickly but……. How long will the ambulance take to arrive? Isle of Wight response times are shockingly appalling
Nice pun.
Those defunding the NHS could do with a shock too. Bring on the election.
A cardiac arrest is a category 1 emergency.
On the island, this will involve an immediate response from the two nearest ambulances, a critical care paramedic, the nearest community first responder and, in certain locations, trained fire service personnel – all of whom carry defibrillators.
All it needs to resuscitate someone is just one of those resources to arrive within a few minutes. The rest follow as quickly as possible.
Since the rollout of the recent medical procedures
the are desperately needed.