The North Notts Lions have funded the installation of a life saving defibrillator which has now been installed at the Swimming Pool on the Misterton Primary School site on Grovewood Road.
The local voluntary Five Villages First Responder (FVFR) group started a project earlier in the year with the aim to provide community public access defibrillators (CPADs) within Misterton and other local villages. The North Notts Lions stepped forward and agreed to fund the cost of the defibrillator and cabinet which has been placed on the exterior wall of the Swimming Pool building next to the Misterton Primary School.
A further public defibrillator has recently been installed on the exterior wall of the Misterton Centre on High Street next to the Coop. This unit has been funded by public donations and support from Misterton Coop through their "Community Champions" scheme. Another one has been in place at the Haxey Gate Inn and golf course on Haxey Road, Misterton, for the last three years.
The simple to use Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) can be potentially life saving when someone suffers a cardiac arrest, which is when the patient's heart stops beating correctly and they stop breathing. In such a situation every second counts. For every minute that goes by the chance of survival reduces by as much as 10 to 14%. But with fast and effective CPR and defibrillation the chances of survival increase hugely.
The FVFR team work in partnership with East Midlands Ambulance Service and have already trained over 60 people in how to perform CPR and how to use an AED. This includes staff from the school and swimming teachers, along with staff from Misterton Coop, the Sure Start Centre, the Misterton Centre, Wayne Howe's butchers and the Haxey Gate Inn.
Jane Cappleman-Jackson, Head Teacher at Misterton Primary School said: "We would like to thank North Notts Lions for very kindly funding this defibrillator and to FVFR for their support and training. The swimming pool is used by school pupils from many local villages, as well as being open for public and private sessions to people young and old. Having an AED on site and people who have been trained in how to use it could be potentially life saving in the event of a cardiac arrest occurring."
AEDs are safe and easy to use, compact, portable and very effective. They are designed to be used by lay persons; the units guide the operator through the process by verbal instructions and visual prompts. They are safe and will not allow a shock to be given unless the heart's rhythm requires it.
Paramedic and Group Coordinator of FVFR, Martyn Johnson said: "You will now see AEDs in many public places such as shopping centres, leisure centres, airports and train stations and now also more and more in towns, villages and communities across the country. Our project has seen AEDs placed in the rural villages of Misterton, Beckingham and Gringley on the Hill already. With units soon to be installed in Walkeringham and West Stockwith too. Fund raising has also been taken place in Everton for an AED in the village too. We would like to thank all those organisations and individuals who have supported the project so far, including those who have provided donations and funding."
The
AEDs at Misterton Primary School and the Misterton Centre are in
external cabinets allowing for them to be accessible 24 hours a
day, seven days a week. The details of the AED are stored on the
ambulance control room dispatch system and if a 999 call is made
nearby reporting a cardiac arrest or possible cardiac arrest, the
caller is advised where the AED is located, is given the access
code and advised to send someone to collect the AED.
Anyone can use an AED if a cardiac arrest occurs, prior training is not required as instructions are given by the ambulance 999 operator to the caller on how to use the AED, as well as there being visual and audible instructions given from the unit itself as soon as the lid is opened up. This all happens while the nearest ambulance resources are on route, but because the AED is nearby, the chances of survival are much greater.
