HeartStart News.

Fire & Rescue Services equip staff with HeartStart defibrillators from Laerdal Medical

London, Tyne & Wear and Dumfries & Galloway are among the growing number of Fire & Rescue Services to equip staff, stations and appliances with Automatic External Defibrillators - and the skills to use them. The three Fire & Rescue Services have purchased HeartStart AEDs from Laerdal Medical Ltd due to the reliability and ease-of-use of the machines, and the compatibility of HeartStart technology with emergency medical equipment used by over 50% of UK ambulance services.

The HeartStart FRx AED can be used in even the most hostile terrain. Robust, reliable, small and easily portable, it can be used in extreme weather conditions, on metal surfaces and can even withstand jetting water (loads up to 250Kg) and 1-metre drops to a concrete floor.

London Fire Brigade -   AssetCo Emergency Limited has recently placed an order on behalf of the LFB for168 FRx Heartstart Automated External Defibrillators to be delivered in stages of 15 per quarter over the next 3 years. The electronic paediatric key that will enable the unit to treat people of all ages has been included within this order. To ensure that their personnel are trained to the highest possible standards 40 training units have been purchased and are currently in use. Clive Robinson of Contracts Management Group explained, “Each fire appliance carries an Immediate Emergency Care pack, which includes a wide range of trauma and emergency medical equipment of which the Heartstart FRx is an integral component. As soon as personnel are trained to use an AED, HeartStart FRx units will be included in the kit and this will form part of the normal emergency care procedures we bring to any emergency incident we attend”.

Tyne & Wear Fire & Rescue Service selected the HeartStart FRx AED from Laerdal when equipping its fleet of appliances with a total of 31 defibrillators. “Having defibrillators on board our fire appliances will provide a lifeline to those people who are suffering a cardiac arrest at the scene of an emergency.” Said John Adamson, Area Manager. “As a service we can find ourselves first at the scene of an emergency in situations where fire fighters have rescued members of the public from fires or other emergency incidents and where it is apparent that they are suffering from cardiac arrest prior to the arrival of the ambulance service.  With the introduction and use of our new HeartStart defibrillators we can now provide immediate life saving interventions.  Having defibrillators close to hand will help us protect life – and contribute to the modern and effective service we are committed to delivering.”

Thanks to a donation by local pharmaceutical company Shasun Pharma Solutions Limited, Dumfries & Galloway Fire & Rescue Service has been able to place HeartStart FR2 AEDs within different departments where large numbers of personnel are employed, and at community fire stations used by the general public. Watch Manager John Templeton explained, “We selected the HeartStart FR2 because it came out on top in our defibrillator evaluation programme and meets the requirements of Dumfries and Galloway Fire and Rescue Service. In addition to the suitability of the machine, Laerdal offered a full training and service package, of which we have taken full advantage.”

The HeartStart FR2 weighs in at only 2.1 kg, and measures only 218 x 218 x 66 mm, so it is easy both to transport and store. Like all HeartStart AEDs, a combination of clinically proven technologies provides safe and effective therapy for the patient.

Training people to use a HeartStart AED is quick and easy. Fully automatic, the machine assesses the rhythm of the patient’s heart and will only advise a shock if the heart is in fibrillation. In this condition, the shock, applied via chest pads attached to the machine, reverts the heart’s beating pattern from a quiver into a regular beat, after which the machine continues to assess the patient’s heart pattern (and will advise further shocks if necessary) until the arrival of a paramedic. User-friendly audible and visual prompts and class-leading reliability make the HeartStart AED one of most popular defibrillators in the world. Research shows that early defibrillation, ideally within the first two or three minutes, can improve the patient’s chance of survival by up to 50%.

Defibrillator at Market Cross Shopping Centre.

Market Cross Shopping Centre management has announced that it has taken steps to increase chances of shoppers surviving a sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), by placing an AED (Automatic External Defibrillator) in the Shopping Centre.

Every year, sudden cardiac arrest claims the lives of at least 4,000 people in Ireland. The only known treatment for sudden cardiac arrest is the use of a defibrillator, which uses a powerful electric shock to stop the abnormal heart rhythm and allow the heart to return to a more normal beating pattern.

Survival rates for sudden cardiac arrest are less than two per cent when defibrillation is delayed for ten minutes or more.
"Our goal is to protect the lives of our customers and employees," said Pat Ryan, Centre Manager. "Having the AED on site and being fully trained to put it to use if needed increases access to early defibrillation and helps us save lives."

Unlike models of defibrillators intended for use by health care professional, AEDs do not require extensive medical knowledge to understand or operate. The expertise needed to analyse the heart's electrical function is programmed into the device, and enables ordinary people to provide treatment to victims of SCA.

A one day training session, covering both AEDs and Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation was completed at the Newpark Hotel recently, held by Kilkenny Water Safety where twelve members of staff from Market Cross Shopping Centre, Kilkenny Cafe, Unicare Pharmacy, Superquinn and Specsavers certified as AED operators.

7 June 2007
Kilkenny Advertiser, Ireland