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Damaged Portelet defibrillator replaced

Damaged Portelet defibrillator replaced

Wednesday 03 July 2019

Damaged Portelet defibrillator replaced

Wednesday 03 July 2019


The Public Access Defibrillator at Portelet kiosk, which had to be removed when the toilet block was vandalised, has finally been replaced.

The previous cabinet was damaged when the building was set alight and had been temporarily stored at the Imperial Hotel ever since.

However, with help from AFM, St John and the Cardiac Action Group, a new cabinet has been fitted at the kiosk.

Community Resuscitation Development Officer, Mike Froome, explained more about the new equipment: "It hasn't got an electronic keypad that gets damaged by the sunlight. It hasn't got a glass front on it - people would try and punch it in and damage it. This one doesn't rely on power to open the box so if there is a power cut we don't have a defibrillator that can't be accessed very easily."

defibrillator PAD portelet

Pictured: The newly-fitted defibrillator at Portelet kiosk.

Over the past six years the number of Public Access Defibrillators across the island has risen from 13 to 58.

"We are fortunate that very few of the ones we've deployed in the community have been damaged," said Chief Ambulance Officer for St John, Mark Mapp. "It is rare to have someone abuse a life-saving piece of equipment."

With many of the local defibrillators reaching the end of their shelf-life, the Cardiac Action Group plans to replace all the cabinets with the updated and more robust ones. It is currently fundraising for the effort, with each cabinet costing around £1,100.

"If you get a defibrillator on somebody's chest within three minutes you can get their chances of survival from 10-20% up to 60-70%," continued Mr Froome. "Every minute you don't get a shot from a defibrillator there's a 10% less chance of surviving. If it takes five minutes for an ambulance to get from Town that's a 50% less chance of surviving."

If anyone suspects someone is having a cardiac arrest they are urged to call 999 straight away. The control centre will then give a code which can be used to access the nearest defibrillator. They will go on to provide thorough advice over the phone while an ambulance makes its way to the scene.

ambulance St John

Pictured: A team of nearby volunteers and members of the police and fire services may also respond to a cardiac arrest incident.

"A sudden cardiac arrest is when they suddenly become unconscious, they stop breathing and their heart stops beating - they need a defibrillator," explained Mr Froome. "When somebody is having a heart attack they have a blood clot in one of their arteries and they will probably be conscious, they might be complaining of chest pains - they need an ambulance. There is a big difference between the two. Sudden cardiac arrest can happen to anybody at any fitness level."

Public Access Defibrillators will not shock someone who does not need to be shocked.

"We can put them everywhere but if we don't tell people where they are, they won't use them," said Mr Mapp. "We've got apps that we can now use to develop locations so you can hit an app and it can tell you where your neatest one is. In Europe it is going further, so they are trialing drone AEDs (Automated External Defibrillators) and they are deployed at a fast speed. That's something we will definitely we looking towards."

The Cardiac Action Group runs free defibrillator training for anyone looking to learn more and can be contacted via info@cag.org.gg. The PAD Finder app is available for download on all Windows, iOS and Android devices.

More information is available here.

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