Community AEDs and LIVES first responders make a difference in Lincolnshire, UK
Placing automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in the community and training LIVES volunteers is making a dramatic difference in Lincolnshire, U.K.
Community members trained as LIVES volunteers can be first responders, increasing the chances that a cardiac arrest victim in Lincolnshire will receive a life-saving shock. Here are two examples of LIVES at work:
In October, a LIVES first responder was dispatched to the home of Ken Boddy, who had collapsed after suffering a massive heart attack. The first responder, Sandra Pedersen, used an AED to restart Boddy’s heart; when paramedics arrived, Boddy was transported to to a nearby hospital. He died two days later, but there had been time for family to gather.
“We were able to get Ken back so the family could say goodbye to him,” his wife, Michelle Boddy, told the Lincolnshire Echo.
Powerheart AED G3 used by LIVES first responder Leslie Usher in Lincolnshire
In May, Lesley Usher, an employee at a local residential care home was driving the center’s van when she saw Charles Blockley, 73, collapsed on the ground, and another man giving him CPR. Usher, trained as a first responder, had a LIVES kit in her own car at the care center. She attached the defibrillator to the victim, and the defibrillator administered a shock, twice. By the time the ambulance arrived, Blockley’s heart was beating.
Blockley, who later received an implantable defibrillator, has donated 1,000 pounds to the LIVES program to go towards purchase of another AED.
The Lincolnshire Echo is leading the AED campaign to raise funds to install 42 AEDs throughout the county. As part of its “Have a Heart” campaign, the Echo has purchased a Powerheart AED G3 for its new offices on the ground floor of Witham Wharf in Brayford Wharf East. A Dec. 5 article in the Echo, one of a series on AED awareness, describes the purchase and staff training.
The machine will be kept in a cabinet accessible with a four-digit code obtainable from the ambulance service. When someone dials 999 to call for emergency medical services, they’ll be given the location and code for the nearby AED cabinet.
The newspaper arranged to have three staff members trained in CPR and AED use, including feature writer Dawn Hinsley.
“Although the defibrillator was much easier to use than I anticipated, without the training I would not have understood why it is so essential,” Hinsley said. “At least if someone’s in a life-threatening situation now I can give them a better chance of survival until a paramedic arrives on the scene.”
Trainer Steve Hyde assured staff that they should not be afraid of helping someone suffering a cardiac arrest for fear of being sued because the British “Good Samaritan” law protects rescuers.
Last 5 posts by Joe Hage
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- West Virginia University installs AEDs: Cardiac Science for the week of August 30 - August 30th, 2010
- “Zip Across the Clyde” funds AEDs in Glasgow - August 26th, 2010
Tue, Feb 9, 2010 |
AED Partnerships, AEDs, Outside the US