A new community access defibrillator has been installed outside Lifeline Fire & Security’s offices at Riverway in Newport, thanks to the efforts of Lifeline, Medina Foodservice, Buywise and Premier Ford.
Over 30,000 people suffer from sudden cardiac arrest at home or in public places in the UK each year. If a defibrillator is used and CPR is performed within 3 to 5 minutes, the chances of survival are dramatically increased from 6% to 74%.
The new installation means that a life-saving defib is now within immediate reach of those working in and visiting the area. It adds to the increasing network of defibrillators across the Isle of Wight.
The shocking statistics about the importance of having access to a defibrillator led Jean Lee, Director of Lifeline and Steve Ross, Managing Director of Medina Foodservice to reach out to Buywise and Premier Ford, to help provide towards the funding for the new unit.
Jean comments:
“Having access to a defibrillator can help to improve survival outcomes for sudden cardiac arrest, so I felt that it was our social responsibility to provide a defibrillator for the local community and base this at Lifeline.”
To further support the new defibrillator, Cindy Newnham and Ann Goldsmith of Lifeline have also attended a CPR & Defibrillator training course at the IW Chamber of Commerce, and whilst they are hoping never to have to use it, it is there, ready for use by any member of the public in the vicinity.
The unit has also been registered with the local Ambulance Station and on the HeartSafe location map.
Louise Walker of IW NHS Trust, Head of the Ambulance Training and Community Response Services (ATCoRS) adds:
“On behalf of the IW NHS Trust Ambulance Service I would like to genuinely thank Lifeline Fire & Security, Medina Foodservice, Buywise and Premier Ford for investing in this lifesaving piece of equipment. Our extended appreciation goes to Lifeline Security for installing and housing the defibrillator in an outside wall box, kindly donated by the British Heart Foundation (BHF), making it available to the community 24/7.”
