Defibrillator units donated to Cheshire East Council
20th January 2012
A host of Cheshire East Council’s leisure centres and swimming
pools will benefit from a welcome donation from the ambulance
service.
North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) has handed 19
AED
(automated external defibrillator) units to the Council, which will
be on hand should any medical emergencies arise in its
buildings.
Cheshire East already has defibrillators at its Westfields
headquarters in Sandbach and at Tatton Park, Knutsford, and its
health and safety team will take responsibility for all of
them.
In addition to leisure facilities, the units will also be housed in
Delamere House, Crewe; Dalton House, Middlewich and at Macclesfield
Town Hall.
Councillor Peter Mason, Cabinet member with responsibility for
procurement and shared services, said: “I very much welcome this
donation from the ambulance service. Defibrillators are an
essential tool in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiac
episodes.
“Our health and safety team has placed them in buildings where
there is higher footfall and also where cardiac rehabilitation
programmes are already running. We have staff members based in
these buildings who are trained in the use of this equipment and
will be on hand to treat any patients in the event of
emergency.”
Defibrillators can save lives by providing an electric shock
through the chest wall to restart the heart, in some cases of
cardiac arrest. When someone suffers a cardiac arrest, they lose
consciousness almost at once. There are no other signs of life such
as normal breathing.
Community resuscitation manager at
NWAS
, Rob Hussey said: “None
of us know who will suffer a cardiac arrest or when it will happen.
What we do know is that when such a life threatening situation
occurs, a speedy response is crucial. Defibrillation within the
first few minutes of a cardiac arrest can dramatically increase the
survival chances of the victim and prevent long term damage to
vital organs. We would like to see defibrillators in as many places
as possible and therefore, we are very pleased to be working with
Cheshire East Council to equip their leisure centres with
life-saving equipment. Hopefully, they’ll never need to use the
defibrillators, but the public should be assured that there are
people who know how to help should the most extreme emergency
occur.”
To benefit from the equipment are leisure centres at
Macclesfield, Wilmslow, Congleton, Knutsford, Alsager, Sandbach,
Poynton, Shavington, Holmes Chapel, Middlewich and Sir William
Stanier High School in Crewe. Some of these centres also have
swimming pools and some are connected with high schools.
Nantwich Pool and Fitness Centre, Barony Park in Nantwich, Crewe
Pool and the Oakley Centre and Cumberland Arena, Crewe, will also
receive one.
