We are proud to announce that in conjunction with the Welsh Heart Charity, we have installed 5 more automatic defibrillators at our Independent Living schemes in DeClare Court and Hanover Court, Haverfordwest; Kensington Court and Hanover Court, Milford Haven; and Williams Court in Narberth. The defibrillators will be available for our customers and the local community.
With more than 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests across the UK every year and less than one in ten surviving, the use of a defibrillator is vital, as without immediate treatment, 90-95% of sudden cardiac arrest victims will die. For every minute it takes for a defibrillator to reach someone and deliver a shock, their chances of survival reduce by up to 10% so the more defibrillators in our communities, the more lives are potentially saved.
To use any public defibrillator locked inside a cabinet you need to call 999. The operator will guide you through CPR, get an ambulance to your location and give you the access code to open the cabinet. There are clear instructions on how to use it and the unit will only deliver a shock if the person needs one.
For more information on how they work check out the British Heart Foundation website.
The Save A Life Cymru project have also produced this really helpful video on what to do in an emergency.