George Brown and Dr Peter Hardus with the defibrillator
Recently, a defibrillator has been installed in Sanday School’s Community wing, strategically located close to the Sports field, Fitness suite, Swimming pool and Community Room, and within easy reach of the school rooms too. The cost of the apparatus (approximately £1,500) was shared between the British Heart Foundation and the Sanday Surgery Fund, itself consisting largely of donations made from within the community.
The photograph shows George Brown, President of Sanday’s Community Association, which is responsible for the administration of the Community School facilities outside school hours, together with Dr. Peter Hardus, the island’s G.P. who will be training the nurses, lifeguards, fitness trainers and others in the use of the equipment.
Roderick Thorne, Sanday
The following text is taken from the British Heart Foundation website
“When someone has a cardiac arrest defibrillation needs to be prompt. For every minute that passes chances of survival decrease by 14 per cent. Research shows that applying a controlled shock within five minutes of collapse provides the best possible outcome. This indicates the need for defibrillators to be deployed strategically in areas of greatest need – areas where there is a high incidence of cardiac arrest and in areas where it is difficult for an ambulance to get there quickly, e.g. rural areas, poor road networks, traffic congestion or where large crowds gather.
A defibrillator is a machine that can restart the heart by giving a electric shock in some cases of cardiac arrest. An automated external defibrillator (AED) is a type of defibrillator that detects the electrical activity in the heart and gives automated instructions to the rescuer on what to do.
Over 6,000 defibrillators have been placed in the community since the BHF started donating them in 1996 to complement the work of ambulance services. We know of at least 230 lives that have been saved through our investment.
Grants can support the cost of a defibrillator, but provision must be made by the applicant for ongoing maintenance. Every individual application for funding is assessed by an independent sub committee on its own merit against robust award criteria. For community based groups there is also a requirement that a supervising medical director ensures that controls are in place for adequate training of AED users, with periodic refresher training. This training and re-training must be provided by appropriately qualified individuals, such as resuscitation officers, community defibrillation officers, medical or nursing staff, ambulance service trainers, or first aid trainers accredited in AED training.
Research shows that GPs equipped with defibrillators can improve survival by up to 60% if the patient is treated immediately or soon after entering cardiac arrest.”
