DEFIBRILLATOR

Community Public Access Defibrillator 

Residents in Reedham have been handed a lifeline with the installation of a vital defibrillator at Reedham village hall.

Courtesy of Freethorpe Community First Responder Group, the machine is now in place and ready for use in cardiac emergencies.

What is a defibrillator?

A defibrillator can deliver an electrical current through the chest to shock the heart back into normal rhythm following a sudden cardiac arrest (heart attack).Rapid response using a defibrillator can save lives.

Where is it?

The defibrillator is in a yellow cabinet with key combination lock mounted outside the main entrance to Reedham Village Hall.

Who can use it?

Our defibrillator is designed to be used safely by people with no medical experience because the user is guided through the process by a sequence of voice commands from the machine.

How do I gain access to the defibrillator in an emergency?

If you think that someone in the village is having a heart attack dial 999 immediately and ask for an ambulance. You will be told that there is a defibrillator in the village and given the key combination for the defibrillator cabinet.
 

The target set by the government for Ambulance Trusts all over the UK is to reach 75% of life threatening calls within 8 minutes. Statistics show that early defibrillation can increase the survival chances of a person who has suffered a Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) by as much a 50%. Sudden Cardiac Arrest happens between 140,000 and 200,000 times a year in the UK, making it one of the UK’s largest killers. The potential for saving a life is dependent on time the faster medical help is administered the better the chances of survival. To achieve a positive outcome when dealing with sudden cardiac arrest medical assistance must be given within 4 - 5 minutes of the event. ln remote areas it can take more than 8 minutes for an emergency medical team to arrive and this is why Community Public Access Defibrillators play a vital role in helping to save lives in rural communities. Statistics suggest that the survival rate after a sudden cardiac arrest with resuscitation (CPR) alone is 5%. By using a defibrillator the survival rate increases to 50%