Community to get protection from life saving equipment
Wednesday, 28 May, 2014
Life saving equipment will be installed in a Birmingham community, thanks to the fundraising efforts of St John Ambulance volunteers.
The Automated External Defibrillator (AED) – which can be used to restart someone’s heart following a cardiac arrest - will be located at the Ward End Fire Station in Washwood Heath Road from June 7.
The Cardi-Aid AED was donated to St John Ambulance’s Bucklands End Unit by Birmingham based Evac+Chair International Ltd, which supplies and manufactures emergency equipment. The West Midlands Ambulance Service has supplied the case for the AED.
The donation follows a fundraising appeal that saw a team of eight of the charity’s volunteers climb Ben Nevis complete with 9kg resuscitation practice dummy - known as ‘Resusci Anne’- strapped to their backs.
They raised more than £6,000 through the climb that will be used to buy a further four AED machines that will be installed in Castle Bromwich.
There are an estimated 60,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in the UK each year. The chance of survival fall 10% for every minute that passes without an AED being used and survival rates can be as high as 75 per cent when patients are treated with the right care in time.
The AED at the fire station will be able to be used by members of the public in an emergency, providing easy to follow step-by-step instructions to users.
Louise Tomlinson, St John Ambulance Unit Manager, said: ‘When we originally came up with the idea, we wanted to raise enough money for two AEDs in the Castle Bromwich area. Thanks to the generous donation by Evac+Chair, there will eventually be five machines that the public will be use in an emergency.
‘The climb up Ben Nevis was a gruelling challenge – especially when we did a four minute round of Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation at the top – but it was worthwhile to be able to provide the equipment that could be the difference between a life lost and a life saved. It was an amazing team effort from everyone involved from the start.’
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. Evac+Chair International Limited are proud to be associated with such a worthwhile cause to deliver life-saving equipment to benefit local residents.’
Andy Jeynes, Community Response Manager for West Midlands Ambulance Service, said, ‘When I heard about this project and the fabulous efforts of the team to raise funds I was more than happy to offer my support.
‘There is no doubt in my mind that Public access Defibrillation sites do make a difference in some cases of sudden cardiac arrest and obviously the more sites we can support the better.
‘The Trust has supplied an external all weather cabinet for the defibrillator and, together with our partners West Midlands Fire Service, we will provide a safe and secure location for the defibrillator which has been provided by the fundraisers in St John Ambulance”
Firefighter Gavin Dring, of Ward End fire station’s White Watch, said: ‘Our firefighters and many of our staff are trained to use AEDs, and we already have them on several of our vehicles and premises.
‘The fire station is the perfect location for the new AED. It’s close to a busy sports and recreational area. If ever there was an emergency, people might well come straight to the station for help.
‘We’re delighted to be helping the local community in this way. We’ll also be donating some of the proceeds from a charity car wash to St John Ambulance, to give them some financial support.’
Alongside Louise, the other St John Ambulance volunteers were Craig Thompson, Paul Smallwood, Taylor Bushell, Kylie Brennan, Scott Tyler, Andrew Gillman, and Councillor Adam Aston, Consort to the Deputy Mayor of Dudley.
Donations to Buckland’s End can still be made via http://www.justgiving.com/teams/bucklandsend
