Marking the location of defibrillators onto the British Heart Foundation’s new map can HELP SAVE LIVES.
Every year in the UK, more than 30,000 people have a cardiac arrest. Less than 1 in 10 people survive a cardiac arrest, but early defibrillation and CPR more than double the chances of surviving. Public-access defibrillators are used in less than 10% of events. There are three main reasons why:
- a lack of knowledge of how to use defibrillators
- a lack of awareness around where defibrillators are located
- Out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCAs) occur far away from the nearest defibrillator.
Nowadays, most defibs have ‘spoken’ instructions on how they should be used, so lack of knowledge shouldn’t be an issue. But reason 2 and 3 have been real problems. Only around 30% of defibrillators are known to ambulance services, meaning that out of an estimated number of 100,000 defibrillators, 70,000 are off the grid and potentially unable to be used in an emergency.
The British Heart Foundation (BHF) is rolling out ‘The Circuit - the national defibrillator network’. The Circuit is designed to synchronise every 60 seconds with the live dispatch system of the ambulance services and provide them with the location of the nearest defibrillator in an emergency. If all defibrillator Guardians register the defibs that they look after, the ambulance service will be able to direct bystanders to the nearest lifesaving defibrillator. (If you want to find out more about the geo-referencing of defibs, see the Ordnance Survey website).
A defibrillator Guardian is someone who is responsible for a defibrillator. This may be the person who purchased the defibrillator, or who has the responsibility of looking after it. Many sports clubs, care homes, community centres, places of worship, nurseries or supermarket chains have a Guardian who is responsible for maintaining a defib, but not all are yet registered on The Circuit.
Put quite simply, a defibrillator doesn’t have as good a chance at saving a life unless it is registered on The Circuit.
Find out more about The Circuit and how to register a defib at https://www.bhf.org.uk/how-you-can-help/how-to-save-a-life/defibrillators/national-defibrillator-network-the-circuit#toolkit
The BHF also has a map showing the location of all the defibs registered on The Circuit, including whether they are publicly accessible and at what time, and whether they are ‘emergency ready’. There are only three in the whole of Kenley on the map. Check it out at https://www.defibfinder.uk/.
You can also apply for a part funded Public Access Defibrillator - https://www.bhf.org.uk/how-you-can-help/how-to-save-a-life/defibrillators/apply-for-a-public-access-defibrillator.
So, my call to Kenley residents:
- Do you know of any defibs that aren’t on the map?
- Can you encourage Guardians to register them? Or can you let me know where an unregistered one is located, and I’d be very happy to talk to the Guardian directly.
This campaign from the BHF is genuinely lifesaving. Let’s look after each other and get the map for defibrillators in Kenley populated.
For more information about The Circuit, please see www.thecircuit.uk. Contact me at [email protected].
