LAST WEEK Parliament hosted the London Ambulance Service in a workshop designed to provide CPR training and raise awareness of the increased need for defibrillators in public spaces.
The Heart Starters Campaign uses a data-driven approach to identify ‘defib deserts’ where communities have little to no defibrillators available to help save the life of someone having a cardiac arrest.
A cardiac arrest is when a person’s heart stops beating and stops pumping blood and oxygen around the body. It’s a serious medical emergency and without help the person will die. Bystander intervention has a significant impact on whether a patient survives a cardiac arrest because someone near them has been able to perform CPR and use a defibrillator to help.
Local MP for Central Devon, Mel Stride, attended the campaign workshop to refresh his CPR training and speak to the campaign team about the need for increased provision of defibrillators in his own constituency.
It is estimated that 58% of constituents in Central Devon are in a ‘defib desert’ and data suggests that there are only 21 defibrillators per 10,000 people.
Speaking after the workshop, Mel Stride, MP for Central Devon and Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, said: “Quick access to a defibrillator means elevating the chances of surviving a cardiac from just 8% to over 70%.
“It is vitally important that we increase public access to defibrillators, particularly in rural communities where ambulance response times can be longer.
“Thank you to the London Ambulance Service for coming to Parliament today to give CPR demonstrations and raise awareness of this campaign.”
