Often, all it takes to restart the heart of a victim of sudden cardiac arrest is an adult rescuer and an accessible automatic external defibrillator (AED). Cardiac Science is part of a new partnership in the United Kingdom that aspires to to place life-saving defibrillators in rural communities. The Belvoir HeartBeat campaign in Lincolnshire, England, envisions AEDs installed in village halls, pubs, and businesses in 92 villages surrounding the market town of Grantham.
Groups including Belvoir First Aid, Village Link Magazine, and the British cardiac health organization Arrhythmia Alliance have banded together to raise money for the ambitious program — and to raise awareness about the live-saving potential of easy-to-access AEDs. Cardiac Science will supply the defibrillators, at a cost of about £1 per day per village, and maintain the devices for seven years.
Leading the campaign is Falklands War war veteran Simon Weston, renowned motivational speaker who received of the Order of the British Empire for his work on behalf of charities. Weston, himself a survivor of cardiac arrest, is eager to get out the message about AEDs.
“Early intervention is essential in addressing a sudden cardiac arrest (SCA),” Weston says. “Placing defibrillators in the community along with appropriately first-aid trained people greatly increases the change of a positive outcome.”
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September 10th, 2009 at 5:17 am
Please note that Arrhythmia Alliance has NOT ‘banded’ together with Belvoir First Aid. A-A supports the placement of AED’s as life-saving equipment however to be able to support local projects we need to be provided with full information. We welcome enquiries and can provide a toolkit to assist communities on everything needed to know to purchase, train and maintain AED’s. We can also provide Minnie-Anne training kits which have proved highly successful. http://www.heartrhythmcharity.org.uk
September 10th, 2009 at 11:38 am
Thank you, Trudie, for the clarification.
Joe Hage