ECCH delivers defibrillator training to Suffolk community

ECCH delivers defibrillator training to Suffolk community

Members of a Suffolk community received vital life-saving training when ECCH helped them learn how to use the defibrillators they have in their village .

Over 30 residents turned out to Wenhaston Village Hall for a training session with ECCH Training Officer Simon Drewett.  As well as learning about cardiac arrest and defibrillators, he also talked to them about CPR for adults and children, and how to respond in the event of a heart attack or choking episode.

Those attending asked lots of questions and were very eager to learn how to help save a life.

Did you know? Less than 1 in 10 people in the UK survive an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Two big factors that play a part in this are:

• There aren’t enough people prepared to perform CPR when someone has a cardiac arrest
• There aren’t enough defibrillators

By having a defibrillator available and by training people in CPR, they can play an important part in saving more lives and showing residents they care for their community. Having a public access defibrillator (PAD) available in an emergency can be life-saving, especially in remote communities where ambulance response times may be longer.

Public access defibrillators are often bought by parish councils, residents’ groups, social clubs and churches. Funds can be raised through business sponsorship, donations and fundraising activities.