We’re passionate about keeping up to date with the latest training available and this extends to our health and safety officers. Following on from Martyn and Simon attending a first aid course earlier this year, we became aware of the impact a nearby defibrillator can have on the possible chance of survival following cardiac arrest.
For every minute it takes for the defibrillator to reach someone and deliver a shock, their chances of survival reduce by up to 10%. Every second counts.
After researching the distance to our nearest automated external defibrillator (AED), the decision was made to purchase an onsite defibrillator.
This not only benefits the staff and visitors of Direct Air, but also other businesses based on the Binley Industrial Estate in Coventry and the surrounding area.
Having a defibrillator at work could be the difference between life and death.
Automated external defibrillators are compact and portable. They are also easy and safe to use as they will not allow a shock to be given unless the heart’s rhythm requires it.
Why is this important?
In the UK each year, over 30,000 people suffer cardiac arrests (SCA) outside of hospital where the emergency services attempt to resuscitate them, but less than 10% of these people will survive.
Many SCA victims can be saved if they receive immediate treatment before the emergency services arrive, including cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and defibrillation which shocks the heart to resume a normal rhythm.
If defibrillation is delivered within three-five minutes of collapse, survival rates can be as high as 50-70%.
However, as the emergency services average response time in England is eight minutes, having a defibrillator in your workplace could improve your employees and visitors’ chances of survival.
What about your workers?
Many factors in the workplace can delay lifesaving resuscitation, such as:
- Remote locations are likely to be subject to longer emergency service response times.
- Urban or multi-storey locations are more difficult for emergency responders to reach due to the need to negotiate traffic, stairs, lifts, escalators or crowds of people.
- Businesses with spread out facilities could prove hazardous if first aid equipment is located in distant buildings.
An IOSH survey revealed that more than half of British businesses do not have a defibrillator.