Dobbins calls for increased defibrillator provision
Derry City and Strabane District Council is being called on to increase the number of defibrillators available in public buildings and council owned grounds.
In a motion before the “Super Council” tomorrow, SDLP Cllr Angela Dobbins (pictured) will also call for all defibrillators to be registered with the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service and in any database that may be established in the future by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
There is thought to be over 1,000 automated external defibrillator machines available outside of hospitals across the North but, according to Cllr Dobbins, there is no comprehensive record of who has an AED machine, where these machines are located, who has access to them or whether they are regularly maintained.
Cllr Dobbins added: “The early use of CPR and defibrillators really can make the difference between life and death but it is estimated that the current survival rate for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in NI is only 7.5%.
“When a person suffers a cardiac arrest, time is of the essence.
“For every minute before defibrillation, the chance of survival drops by 10%.
“The chance of an ambulance arriving in less than eight minutes is very low.
“Research proves that, while waiting the arrival of paramedics, using a defibrillator in conjunction with CPR can increase the survival rate to over 70%.
“A simple argument to be made is that if the public are aware about the location of defibrillators, then they have the power to save lives in the event of an emergency.
Cllr Dobbins said a number of sporting organisations such as the GAA, IFA, IRFU and many more have drastically increased the number of defibrillators available at training sessions and matches.
She added: “I know of one family who have a child with heart problems helped raise funds and donated a defibrillator to the local school with view that it is to be used for the whole community also. I also know that the north West Taxi Proprietors are part of an innovative first responder scheme providing immediate assistance to a casualty while ambulances make their way to the call to provide high quality clinical care to those in need.”