[pgkevet]

Thanks all.


Womble, I've started making a few enquiries this morning and have just chatted with someone from the British Heart Foundation. I've been told that you don't need a mobile signal for a community defibrillator. We haven't got one up here and they said you would just have an unlocked cabinet.

So long as you have a half-decent community or it'll be on ebay next week...

[in the hills]

Well, maybe I shouldn't speak too soon but I think it would be pretty safe. 

[in the hills]

Mmm, but thanks, you've got me thinking ...... maybe we should look into some insurance

[harmony]

Mmm, but thanks, you've got me thinking ...... maybe we should look into some insurance

As a Community First Responder team through the ambulance service you will have insurance.


The advantage a Community First Responder team has over defibs in a community is that when a 999 call goes in a CFR team is alerted so they go to the incident. Hopefully more than one person attends so you can share CPR, you can support relatives, gather info for ambulance crew....


You are called to incidents where someone has breathing problems so they may not be in cardiac arrest but it is very comforting to people to have someone with them whilst waiting for an ambulance and it maybe that they need oxygen which CFR are trained to give.


Nothing against public defibs and if you don't go down the first responder route then please go down this one.


However, say someone calls 999 because they have breathing difficulties, etc and they are on their own how are they going to get the defib? Even if someone is with them, the other person might not drive, might not want to go for defib. Do you have holiday makers? How do they find defibs in the dark in the early hours?

[harmony]

I maybe wrong but I think you are in Wales [member=24384]in the hills[/member]

www.ambulance.wales.nhs.uk/Default.aspx?pageId=96&lan=en

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[harmony]

I went on one of the St Johns Ambulance 3 day First Aid courses when we moved into the sticks.  I am not sure how much I would remember now, but it would still be more than I knew before I went on the course, and I would be more confident also. 

As has already been mentioned, the defib's are VERY easy to use and could easily make the difference between life and death, so I salute what you are doing 100%. 

A couple of other very basic things which I took away from my course: 

1. The emergency (999) call centres do far more than just arrange an ambulance to attend.  They also talk you through emergency basic 1st aid, primary checks, and how to do CPR if required, so you are not 'on your own' so to speak.  It sounds obvious, but that support at the other end of the telephone had never registered on my radar at all. 

2. Do not underestimate how hard it is to carry out 10-15 minutes of CPR on someone while the ambulance arrives.  It is absolutely exhausting.  Adrenaline may get you through, but if there is someone else nearby to take turns that is a massive help.  Get them to watch what you are doing so they can take over from you every minute of two.  Getting your technique right will help to save effort.

Yes, compressions keep oxygen circulating around the body. So, if you find yourself in a situation where CPR is necessary and you can't bring yourself to do mouth to mouth, do the chest compressions.  A key thing to remember is airway. And also recovery position.

[in the hills]

Thank you, Harmony.


An update.....


We have been so lucky! I did what you suggested and started to contact charities about funding. A 'package of defibrillator and cabinet' had just been donated to one of the Welsh charities with a request that it be placed in SW Wales or Powys just as my email reached them! So we have the package for the cost of postage. We are so grateful to them. Should arrive within the month.


Another community member looked into training for the community and someone from the Welsh Ambulance Service is coming to give us training in our chapel!


So we are making good progress.


I don't know the details of the training but it is just 2 hours in duration. I assume that this isn't the first responder training that you talk about, Harmony?

[harmony]

Brilliant. 


Two hours is a basic heart start training. Get as many people there as possible. You can then talk about Community First Responders and see if that would work for you as a next step.