Somerset shopping centre shows its heart in
protecting customers
A Somerset shopping centre has made a
commitment to giving its customers and workers an enhanced level of
protection against potentially fatal cardiac arrests.
Life saving equipment
Angel Place Shopping Centre in Bridgwater has
purchased an Automated External Defibrillator
(AED) - a machine which may shock the heart to restart it,
after cardiac arrest - and called in St John Ambulance to train
eight staff in how to use it.
The handover took place on 15 September
followed by comprehensive training from St John Ambulance on how to
use the AED. As well as centre staff, other shop owners and
managers are also to be involved in the training.
In the UK, one person suffers a heart
attack every two minutes and as many as one in three will
die before they reach hospital. For each minute that passes without
defibrillation, the chances of survival fall by up to 10 per cent.
Survival rates increase by more than 50% if a
defibrillator is used within the first four minutes. Thirteen per
cent of workplace casualties are cardiac arrest victims.*
St John Ambulance in the South West launched a
campaign earlier this year to encourage more businesses to buy an
AED and training in a bid to stop people dying
unnecessarily.
Incentive for companies
It also launched a special
offer for any company that books a Health and Safety or
First Aid training course before 30 November 2011
to be entered into a free prize draw to win an AED.
St John Ambulance South West Regional Sales
and Customer Manager Joy Howland said: ‘We’re
delighted that Angel Place has taken up our offer and hope many
others follow suit. Businesses who have experienced someone dying
of a cardiac arrest on their premises know it’s extremely traumatic
for everyone involved.
‘We know that those deaths can be dramatically
reduced with this simple machine. We provide training but it is
actually so straightforward it tells you what to do itself,
enabling anyone to be the difference between a
life lost and a life saved.’
The centre’s commitment to saving lives also
extends to hosting a free first aid demonstration by St
John Ambulance as part of the charity’s Save a
Life September campaign on 24 September from 10am
to 4pm.
People can learn how to save a life using
five easy to follow techniques and will receive a
free pocket-sized first aid guide to carry in case
of emergency.
Roger Smith, Manager of the
Angel Place Shopping Centre, said: ‘With an average footfall of
around 72,000 people coming through Angel Place every week I
believe that we should do all we possibly can to safeguard
customers and shop staff in any way.
‘This defibrillator and training could prove
invaluable in case of any emergency medical assistance that may be
required and I am very pleased to announce that, along with members
of the centre’s security team and staff from Wilkinson, we will now
be in a position to potentially save a life using this
equipment.’
To encourage more businesses and organisations
to install defibrillators, St John Ambulance is offering a special
package in the South West of a Cardiac Science AED
and a four hour training course for up to eight people in how to
use it for just £1,695 plus VAT.
A defibrillator can be the difference
between a life lost and a life saved. Joy added: ‘Every
year, thousands of people die of cardiac arrest when first aid
could give them the chance to live. Our own research shows that
currently 72% of businesses don’t have access to a defibrillator
despite 66% of employees believing that employers should reasonably
be expected to keep one.
'This is a fantastic package offering all a
business needs to have a defibrillator on site with confidently
trained staff and we'd like to see more lives saved in the region
because organisations have defibrillators available.
St John Ambulance recommends that businesses
have at least one defibrillator that is accessible to staff. For
more information about AEDs or first aid training through St John
Ambulance call 0844 770 4800 or email southwest-region@sja.org.uk