Evac+Chair donate a heart-warming gift to St John Ambulance
Evac+Chair International Ltd, suppliers and manufacturers of emergency equipment have donated a CardiAid Automated External Defibrillator (AED) to St John Ambulance, based in Castle Bromwich.
The gift was donated following an appeal for help from a group of eight volunteers from the Buckland End Unit on the Coleshill Road, who will be climbing Ben Nevis in Scotland on May 3, in order to raise £5000 for life saving equipment for their community.
Six of the group members will have a 9kg resuscitation practise dummy – also known as a ‘Resusci Annie’ attached on their backs to make the climb even more challenging. When they reach the summit, each volunteer will carry out a four minute CPR exercise (Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation) on the practise dummy to prove CPR can be carried out anywhere.
The CardiAid ‘talking’ defibrillator is specifically designed for public access use, providing easy to follow step-by-step instructions to users. 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 professional care of the emergency medical services arrive. Using a CardiAid AED is completely safe for the patient and the use, it analyses the heart rhythm of the patient and will only give shock treatment if it is required.
In the UK, around 60,000 people sustain a cardiac arrest out of hospital every year and 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. AEDs are appropriate for use in public places, such as shopping centres, schools, golf courses, businesses, airports, hotels and sports venues.
Louise Tomlinson, St John Ambulance Unit Manager at Buckland End said: ‘I am absolutely delighted that we’ve managed to smash our target before undertaking our challenge. Time and time again, AEDs have proven to be the difference between life and death, yet, access to them remains out of reach for most victims who have sudden cardiac arrest in public spaces. This is why we decided that we would like public access defibrillators in as many places as possible and to train local people how to use them. I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank Evac+Chair for this generous donation. Together, we can be the difference between a life saved and a life lost. We welcome more support to help the people in our community who may one day need the AEDs we are fundraising for.’
Darryl Smith, Operations Director at Evac+Chair said: ‘It’s impossible to predict when an emergency will occur but you can always be prepared. Having an AED available to the Castle Bromwich community will mean that in the unfortunate event that someone is struck by sudden cardiac arrest; their chances of survival will be increased dramatically. The CardiAid AED is a fundamental device that brings added safety and peace of mind and Evac+Chair International Limited are proud to be associated with such a worthwhile cause to deliver life-saving equipment to benefit local residents’
