Chance to help save lives thanks to charity

Time to bid for a heart-start machine

COMMUNITY groups in the borough can bid for life-saving heart-start machines in the latest Government-backed initiative from a leading cardiac charity.

Groups have the chance to join the likes of Hinckley Rugby Club and villagers in Stoke Golding in obtaining a public access defibrillator.

Both machines were provided by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) and paid for through local fundraising.

Now the Department of Health is backing the BHF so organisations can get their hands on a defibrillator for free.

It is part of a partnership which aims to increase the number of defibrillators in the community and improve awareness of their ease of use.

In a second round of funding some £1 million is being pumped into the scheme which will also make CPR training more widely available.

Latest figures from the BHF show just 26% people in the East Midlands would use a defibrillator in an emergency, potentially costing lives.

When someone has a cardiac arrest, their heart stops pumping blood around their body and they’ll die within minutes without treatment.

For every minute without CPR and defibrillation a person’s chance of survival decreases by around 10%.

However, a bystander giving immediate CPR and defibrillation can double a person’s chances of survival in some cases.

There are more than 30,000 out of hospital cardiac arrests in the UK every year. However, fewer than one in 10 people survive.

In places where CPR and defibrillator awareness is more widely taught, survival rates are up to three times as high.

Simon Gillespie, chief executive at the British Heart Foundation, said: “Sadly not enough people have the skills and confidence to perform CPR and too few defibrillators are readily available in public places.

“We’re urging organisations up and down the country to join us in creating a nation of life-savers by making public access defibrillators readily available in their communities and by giving people the skills and confidence to save a life.

“This partnership could mean the difference between life and death for the thousands of people who suffer a cardiac arrest in England every year.”

Organisations, including charities, social enterprises, community groups and commercial organisations working in partnership with East Midlands Ambulance Service can apply for free community packages.

This includes up to five public access defibrillators, the BHF’s Call Push Rescue CPR training kit and defibrillator cabinets.

Organisations can check if they are eligible and apply by visiting bhf. org.uk/defibengland