Heart attack help in the phone box

Horsington’s parish council is supporting a move to install a defibrillator in the old phone box opposite the Half Moon. A team of volunteers will be trained to operate the equipment, which will provide rapid emergency help in the event of anyone suffering a heart attack.

Fact: The chance of surviving a cardiac arrest (heart attack) decreases by 23 per cent per minute. So you have less than 5 minutes to get help and start treatment.

Alongside the defibrillator will be a Village Emergency Telephone System (VETS).  This will ring all the volunteers and first aiders simultaneously, and the first one to pick up can accept of refuse the call out. If they are unavailable, it will go on ringing the others until there is a positive response. VETS can be used for any medical emergency, not just heart attacks.

The scheme is the brainchild of parish councillor Charles James, who has agreed to provide some financial support – The defibrillator costs just under £2,000 and the VETS system costs £150 a year to run. It is hoped that the local authority will also help with funding, and donations are welcome from businesses and individuals.

About Defibrillators
A defibrillator delivers an electrical current through the chest which aims to shock the heart back into a normal rhythm allowing it to pump again.  Rapid response using automated technology can significantly improve the quality of life of a survivor, as the longer the brain is starved of oxygen, the more damage that can occur.

Horsington’s proposed portable defibrillator is designed for people with no medical background.  When applied to the victim, voice commands and screen messages will guide the user step-by-step through the process and its intelligent technology will only allow it to shock a ‘shockable’ heart rhythm. In other words, if it’s not needed, it won’t work.

About Sudden Cardiac Arrest:
Sudden Cardiac Arrest or SCA is an electrical malfunction of the heart (most commonly Ventricular Fibrillation) in which the heart stops pumping blood to the body and brain due to an abnormal heart rhythm known as an arrhythmia.  As the victim consecutively loses pulse, consciousness and ability to breathe, the victim is termed “clinically dead” and can only be physically brought back to life in a very small window of time using a defibrillator .

The rate of survival of a Sudden Cardiac Arrest is dependent upon time. The quicker the intervention, the better the outcome. Brain death starts after 3 minutes so urgent action is needed, particularly in rural areas where it can take several minutes to get a competently trained person to the scene.

If you would like to donate or volunteer (no previous experience necessary) please contact Charles James – charles@otteryantiques.co.uk
More information on the equipment