Birmingham receives its second public access defibrillator thanks to Evac+Chair International Ltd and St John Ambulance

Birmingham receives its second public access defibrillator thanks to Evac+Chair International Ltd and St John Ambulance

Following an appeal earlier from St John Ambulance – Bucklands End Unit, to raise funds for life saving equipment, various locations throughout Birmingham now have access to a public access defibrillator; a life saving device used to treat victims of a heart attack or sudden cardiac arrest.

More than £6,000 was raised by a group of eight volunteers by climbing Ben Nevis complete with a 9kg resuscitation practise dummy – also known as a ‘Resusci Annie’ attached on their backs in May this year.

The funds raised were initially enough to buy four CardiAid automated external defibrillators (AED’s). Birmingham based Evac+Chair International Ltd, suppliers and manufacturers of emergency equipment, generously increased the total to eight by offering a ‘buy one, get one free’.

 

One of the devices has been handed to mac Birmingham in Cannon Hill Park on August 2, a further two will be located at ATS Euromaster in Aston and the remaining will be placed at Perry Barr Greyhound Stadium, Pertemps People Development Group in Chelmsley Wood, Topcliffe School in Castle Vale and Bishop Wilson Primary School in Chelmsley Wood.

 

Evac+Chair donated a CardiAid Automated External Defibrillator (AED) to St John Ambulance earlier this year, which was installed into Ward End Fire Station on Washwood Heath Road on June 7, making a total of nine AED’s available.

 

Around 60,000 people in the UK experience a cardiac arrest out of hospital every year, the chance of survival decreases by 10 per cent for every minute with CPR or defibrillation. Survival rates can be as high as 75 per cent when patients are treated with the right care in time.

The CardiAid ‘talking’ defibrillators are specifically designed for public access use, providing easy to follow step-by-step instructions. The life-saving device provides electroshock treatment to people who suffer a heart attack or sudden cardiac arrest within the first critical minutes until the emergency medical services arrive. Using an AED is completely safe for the patient and the user, it analyses the heart rhythm of the patient and will only instruct treatment if it is required.

Louise Tomlinson, St John Ambulance Unit Manager, said: ‘This has been a fantastic fundraising team effort and we are delighted that we have been able to make a big contribution towards saving the lives of people in Birmingham.
‘We are very grateful to Evac+Chair for making such a generous offer to match our fundraising and that has effectively doubled the difference we have been able to make.’

Darryl Smith, Operations Director at Evac+Chair said: ‘It’s impossible to predict when an emergency will occur but you can always be prepared. We are delighted that St John Ambulance has elected to place the CardiAid AED in to the community. This will mean that in the unfortunate event that someone is struck by sudden cardiac arrest; their chances of survival will be increased dramatically. Evac+Chair International Limited are proud to be associated with such a worthwhile cause to deliver life-saving equipment to benefit local residents.’

Damien Vincent, Head of Event Sales at mac Birmingham said: ‘At mac we aim to offer all visitors the best experience possible, whether that’s visiting our galleries, a conference or a performance. With over 900,000 visitors a year, this experience is extended to offering the best first aid care possible for our many customers. As a result, we’re very pleased that we can now extend our first aid care for all visitors with the availability of an automated external defibrillator (AED) device, the first installed in a Birmingham arts centre. We’d like to thank St John Ambulance for their training, advice and support.’

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