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The Weston on the Green Defibrillator Page
After the successful and well-attended training the defibrillator is up and running and ready to help when appropriate. The steps to take are summarised in the poster shown below. Click on it to see it full size.
The Village Hall and Installation of a Village Defibrillator As some of you are aware the Village Hall Committee have decided to install a defibrillator at the Village Hall. This venture was not undertaken lightly and many months of researching and planning have taken place to get us to the point where we are able to install a defibrillator on the gable end of the Village Hall.
A member of the Village Hall Committee has worked closely with the Community Heartbeat Trust and sought opinions from the South Central Ambulance Service, Oxfordshire NHS Trust and has spoken to a number of villagers as to whether there was any merit in installing such a device. The response was overwhelmingly positive and so, thanks to National Lottery Funding and a private donation, we are able not only to provide the defibrillator and kits for the responders but also training and post-use counselling. We will also be able to maintain the machine for a number of years as a result of the monies raised. Depending on interest from the village the Committee are also looking into the VETS scheme. This is the Village Emergency Telephone Service which allows us to have a single emergency number which is rung after dialling 999. This alerts up to 10 volunteers and works on the premise that one person will be able to bring the defibrillator to the place of the emergency and start the procedure whilst the ambulance is on its way.
Even though we are situated near to Kidlington and Bicester, both of whom have ambulance stations, it was suggested that the village could benefit from a defibrillator as it is in the first crucial minutes after a cardiac arrest that life chances can be improved upon. We appreciate that not everyone will be happy to be trained to use the machine and the advice is to dial 999 straightaway in any emergency. However, it is worth noting that the machine can be used by both trained, and untrained, individuals.
We will be inviting the Community Heartbeat Trust to the Village Hall to run training sessions for those villagers who would like to be trained in the use of the defibrillator machine and the dates will be publicised through the Village News, posters and via email. If you would like to join our mailing list for notice of this, and other events, please email us on [email protected] .
The defibrillator is designed to be used by non-medically trained individuals and the machine will not let you shock anyone who has a heartbeat, however faint! The machine the village is getting will have audio, text and visual instructions and it is the machine that will diagnose the heart rhythm and determine if a shock is needed. The electronic voice of the machine will prompt users through each step. We hope that the defibrillator will never have to be used but if there is ever a need it would be reassuring to know that our village has the equipment that might make a difference.
Since community defibrillators first came into the public domain a number of years ago the technology and ease of using the machine has developed significantly. The Social Action, Responsibility and Heroism (SARAH) Act of April 2015 covers the area of protection for a lay rescuer in an emergency. This Act gives reassurance to members of the community wishing to help in an emergency. On the Village Hall website are some frequently asked questions about defibrillators which we hope will answer any initial queries. Any further questions will be addressed at the training sessions.
About the ECOpad machine FAQ on Defibrillators
