Thursday 18th April 2013 – 2.00pm – Claire Brown.
Life-saving boxes to help patients in cardiac arrest have been installed on ambulance hubs in the Black Country in case of an emergency in the neighbourhood.
Dudley Ambulance Hub on Burton Road and Willenhall Ambulance Hub on Ashmore Lake Way are now home to a community defibrillator; a device used to restart someone’s heart when they’ve suffered a cardiac arrest. The defibrillators located in yellow boxes are secure but publicly accessible in the event of an emergency.
Emma Wilkins, the Trust’s Black Country Community Response Manager, said: “By living near to an ambulance hub you might expect there to always be a paramedic around on site. However, with the ambulance service busier than ever, there is always the possibility of all of our operational crews being out on 999 calls.
“In order to give peace of mind to locals, we’ve installed a defibrillator at both sites which are accessible to members of the community to help start life-saving treatment to someone in cardiac arrest whilst an ambulance is en route. Non-operational staff based at both hubs, who are on site 24/7, have also been given basic life support training to lend a hand in the event of an emergency.
“If someone suffers a cardiac arrest nearby either hub, our neighbours should call 999 immediately and head to the hub for a defibrillator to give the patient the best chance of survival.”
Ends
Notes to Editors:
To find out more about community defibrillators in the Black Country, please contact Emma Wilkins (Black Country Community Response Manager) via emma.wilkins@wmas.nhs.uk.
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