Friday 14th November 2014 – 2pm – Chris Kowalik.
If you are going to suffer a cardiac arrest then one of the safest places is a busy shopping centre like the Darwin and Pride Hill Centres in Shrewsbury.
Security staff there have just completed their training in the use of defibrillators (a device that can restart the heart of someone who is in cardiac arrest) – and in giving CPR (Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation).
Community Defibrillator Facilitator Dawn Bush, from West Midlands Ambulance Service, spent a day at the shopping centres training new security staff and giving refresher courses to those already trained.
Pictured above: Dawn Bush helps Patric (correct) Lowe watched by Emily Rogers, Phil Rowley, Kevin Pratt, Kevin Wilson
Security Officer Patric Lowe, from Shrewsbury, said: “This was a refresher course for me but it is very important that we’re up to date with our training.
“We have defibrillators in both the Darwin and Pride Hill Centres and thankfully I have never had to use them and I hope I don’t but if something happens then I’ll know what to do.
“We’re all first aid trained as well so if someone does have a problem we can be at their side in seconds and we’ve got the equipment here to make a difference.”
Dawn Bush said: “Specialist training in basic life support skills can and does save lives. It doesn’t, in any way, replace emergency services but is a valuable and important resource which can be vital in the first few minutes of a life-threatening situation.
“We teach people like the staff at the Darwin and Pride Hill Centres basic procedures. They are simple, effective – and they work.
“What we teach is how to manage a person who’s collapsed, how to do oxygen therapy and how to use a defibrillator.
“We can teach people to use a defibrillator safely in very short time. The technology has come on in leaps and bounds so you don’t require any specialist skills and knowledge – the machine will do the job for you.
“People normally don’t die of a cut finger or a broken leg but you will die if your heart stops and the patient left with no immediate intervention. It’s as simple as that.
“What we are aiming to achieve is to have people who will feel comfortable and confident to deliver what is a real life-saving skill.”
Pictured above: Dawn Bush along with Emily Rogers, Kevin Wilson, Patric (correct) Lowe, Kevin Pratt and Phil Rowley
Emily Rogers, of Incentive Facilities Management, Head of Security and Cleaning at the Centres, said: “We place a very high priority on training and particularly on first aid and defibrillator training.
“All our security staff are trained to use the machines and these are important skills to have because the safety of the public within the shopping centres is our first responsibility.”
Ends