A community in the Forest of Dean give a warm welcome and a heart-felt thank you for a donation of a Public Access Defibrillator.
Birmingham based Evac+Chair International, a leading supplier of emergency equipment, has donated a CardiAid Automated External Defibrillator (AED) to St. Briavels Assembly Rooms based in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire.
The defibrillator is a ‘talking’ device providing comprehensive step-by-step instructions and is specifically designed for public access use to provide life-saving electroshock treatment to people who suffer a heart attack or sudden cardiac arrest (SDC).
St. Briavels Assembly, Recreation and Reading Rooms are a funded and volunteer run as a charitable limited company, based in a remote rural area in the Forest of Dean containing 1200 residents mainly elderly. They hold a wide variety of activities from yoga to adult education and also support various community events and council meetings.
Karen Cockfield, Spokesperson Trustee & Director of St. Briavels Assembly Rooms initially wrote to Evac+Chair International requesting for advice, Karen said: “Our community has been really moved and impressed with the lovely people at Evac+Chair for their swift and positive response to our cry for help - especially considering we had only come to them in the first instance for advice over a problem with a defibrillator that was nothing to do with them! But still they came to the rescue above and beyond the call of duty! In this day and age of hard-nosed business practises it has been astonishing and refreshing to come across such impeccable ethics and kindness, for which I thank you most sincerely on behalf of one very grateful community."
Mark Roberts, Director at Evac+Chair International said: “We are delighted that we have been able to help the Assembly Rooms and its local community. In the event of any emergency having the right equipment is essential and needs to be readily available. AED’s are easy to use, light weight and they provide speed and control in times of crisis where people are under immense pressure. Using an AED within the first few minutes can make the difference of life or death to someone suffering a heart attack or cardiac arrest.”
A total of 70 per cent of cardiac arrests and heart attacks occur outside a hospital, the early use of a AED can triple a victims chance of survival, the presence of a public access defibrillator is therefore essential the early intervention and fast response can save a life. The more access to AED’s in the future will not only create awareness but will result in more lives being saved.
