Andrew is delighted to announce that the public access defibrillator in Airmyn is now up and running.
Andrew secured a £1,000 casing for the defibrillator from the Yorkshire Ambulance Service and donations from local residents enabled the purchase of the defibrillator itself. This defibrillator is located on the outside of Airmyn Garage and is easily accessible in the event of an emergency.
A defibrillator is a machine that delivers an electric shock to the heart when someone is having a cardiac arrest. When someone goes into cardiac arrest, every minute that passes without CPR and defibrillation reduces their chance of survival by 10%. Communities where response times are realistically more than 5 minutes away are encouraged to set up their own community first responder programme and/or install a public access defibrillator (PAD).
These PADs are designed to improve patient outcomes in places difficult for ambulances to access, such as rural areas. In the event of a cardiac arrest, if there is more than one person available at the scene, the ambulance service will provide the location and code for the defibrillator allowing one to collect it for use whilst the other is talked through CPR. The defibrillator itself will guide the user through the necessary steps and anyone is able to operate it.
Andrew says: "Local councillors and I have been really touched by the support from residents in the village who have really got behind this scheme. We are currently organising some training for residents and I would be happy to be contacted by anyone interested.
"It is really important that we look at a range of different ways to improve patient outcomes and this is a welcome addition to the village."
Cllr Caroline Fox adds: "There has been a lot of interest in the village about this and we were overwhelmed by the generosity of residents.
"Whilst we hope that we don't have need to use this defibrillator I am really pleased that it is ready for the village."
If anyone would like more information about the defibrillator or training to use one they can contact Andrew’s office on 01405 767969
