Defibrillators Installed At Swale Council Offices

Swale Borough Council have now installed defibrillators at its office's in Sittingbourne and at the Sheppey Gateway in Sheerness.

Three machines are available across the two sites, with over 36 volunteers trained to use them.

Councillor Ken Pugh, Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Health, told SFM News: "When somebody goes into cardiac arrest, every minute without CPR and defibrillation, reduces their chance of survival by 10%. We support the need to make defibrillators available in public places. According to the Resuscitation Council (UK), 30,000 people in the UK, sustain a cardiac arrest every year and defibrillation is the only effective response.

In addition, members of our Swale Youth Forum granted £500 to Highsted Grammar school for the purchase of Defibrillator equipment, as part of the SADS UK campaign. The money will also be used to train members of staff and students to use the machines. It is important we are working together to ensure our communities are safe."

Last year the quick actions of Swallows Leisure Centre staff in Sittingbourne and the use of their defibrillator, saved a person's life after he went into cardiac arrest following a gym class.

The defibrillator is a machine that delivers an electric shock to the heart when a cardiac arrest is suffered. (Source: BHF). With prompt defibrillation, survival rates as high as 75% have been reported. Since 1996, the British Heart Foundation has put 9,700 defibrillators into the community, saving at least 230 lives.

Full training has been given on CPR and the use of the defibrillator to staff at both sites. Defibrillators give clear voice instructions to the user and will only deliver a shock if the heart is in ‘fibrillation'. The machine will detect the rhythm of the heart and only deliver a shock if necessary. This means that the machine will not deliver a shock unless it detects this given rhythm. SBC have purchased fully automatic machines, meaning you don't even have to push a button to deliver a shock. The machine instructs the user on how to prepare the patient and attach the pads, it will then do the rest itself.