This project will provide people in Redditch, UK with Public Access Defibrillators (PADs) and Training in Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). More people will know what to do when someone has a cardiac arrest; with less than 1 in 10 people in the UK surviving an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, the project will help save lives. Tailored packages meeting community need include a defibrillator and CPR training manikin, a cabinet with all the necessary accessories, training and ongoing support.
Every year in the UK, 100,000 people die of Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) making it the nation's biggest killer. There are more than 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCAs) in the UK each year, less than one in ten of those victims survive to be discharged from hospital. Anyone can suffer from SCA regardless of age or fitness level anywhere, at any time. When your heart has stopped beating, every second counts and that's when access to a defibrillator and knowledge of CPR is essential.
To help prevent these unnecessary deaths, the installation of Public Access Defibrillators (PADs) and CPR training is required. Having a PAD is only part of the challenge, knowing where to identify one and how to use it is essential. This project plans to map, publicise and support the public through education and awareness raising. To ensure success the project will link with other community and public groups such as First Responders, Schools, Health Service Staff and the Local Authority.
The ultimate aim is to ensure that all public access areas such as Shopping Centres, Community Centres, Parkland, rural locations, community/village shopping precincts house a defibrillator and that those in the area are confident to use them but importantly know it is there. Retrospective research proves that increasing the automated external defibrillator effective location range can improve cardiac arrest coverage by 15%. This project will save lives and raise skills within the community.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).