What is the ‘Let Us See Your AED’ campaign?
West Midlands Ambulance Service has teamed up The British Heart Foundation to try and ensure all defibrillators throughout the region are registered on The Circuit.
Defibrillators, sometimes known as AEDs, are lifesaving pieces of equipment that are used to shock a patient’s heart when they are in cardiac arrest. Our research shows that there could be as many as 2,700 AEDs across the West Midlands that are not registered on The Circuit! If the defib isn’t on The Circuit, our call assessors can’t send someone to get it for a patient, which ultimately could mean the patient dies unnecessarily! That’s why it is so important we get them all logged onto The Circuit.
Run by the British Heart Foundation, The Circuit, the national defibrillator database is used by our call assessors to help direct people who dial 999 to their nearest AED within 500m of where a cardiac arrest is occurring. Quite simply, if AEDs are not registered on The Circuit, we do not have the information such as location and access codes needed to instruct a bystander to the potentially life-saving device.
How do our Call Assessors use The Circuit?
Did You Know?
- There are currently more than 2778 AEDs in the West Midlands, not registered on The Circuit.
- AEDs increase the chance of survival by over 23%.
- In the UK, CPR is carried out by emergency services on approximately 34,000 people, every year.
- There are currently 8,473 AEDs in the West Midlands registered on ‘The Circuit’
- Around 1 in 3 cardiac arrests occur within 300 metres of a school.
Video – Let Us See Your AED Research Paramedic Josh
Patient Stories
If you needed any more convincing that getting all defibs on The Circuit is important, come with us and talk to some people who are here because a defib was registered. Meet cardiac arrest survivor Peter and Melissa, the woman who saved his life.
While people are saved, unfortunately, some are not because defibs aren’t always available. Tragically, when 18-years-old Jamie Rees needed an AED, the nearest one was locked away. Since that fateful day, his Mum Naomi has been campaigning to get more defibs installed and any that are locked away to become accessible – the OurJay Foundation has now managed to install over 100 additional defibs in the Rugby area.
LIFESAVING AED INSTALLED DURING OUR ‘LET US SEE YOUR AED’ CAMPAIGN