Town centre defibrillator given lifesaving upgrade
Enhanced lifesaving equipment is being installed in Bury St Edmunds town centre in a partnership between the town’s Business Improvement District (BID), Town Council and a local businessman.
The defibrillator placed on the wall of McDonalds on Cornhill has had its outer casing upgraded to the newest type of cabinet which is now also able to house a community bleed kit. The partnership has opted to include the kit in the new cabinet making it the first one in a 24-hour publicly available emergency unit in the town centre.
Paul Hicklin, from Bury St Edmunds, has – alongside McDonalds – provided some of the funding for the kit and new cabinet through an ink cartridge recycling scheme operated by his Mildenhall-based business Compleat Office Solutions. Paul said: “For some years I have campaigned and raised funds to increase the number of defibrillators available for public use in memory of my father. As part of this I also check and maintain them once they are installed. When the cabinet on this one reached an age where it needed replacing and we learned that new ones can also house a bleed kit I was only too pleased to help fund the upgrade – the more opportunities we can provide for ‘by-stander first-aid’ in an emergency the better.”
Ben Legood from McDonalds added: “We are very happy to support this life-saving piece of equipment and this recent upgrade makes it even more valuable in the event of an emergency. Funding the new defibrillator cabinet is one of the ways we are able to support our local community.”
First aid training is provided free of charge by Our Bury St Edmunds BID to staff from its member businesses. The BID’s Business Support Manager Mike Kirkham organises the courses which take place at West Suffolk College. Mike commented: “We will be including the use of community bleed kits as part of our emergency first aid courses because I am sure that as opportunities arise to widen the remit of other defibrillator cabinets, those that have them will take it.
“Putting the kit in with the defibrillator shouldn’t be a cause for concern – but now that they have the space for one, the responsible thing to do is make use of it. Of course, we hope that – as with the defibrillator – it’s never needed but on the rare occasions that either of them are, we know that they could save a life.”
There are now seven 24-hour publicly available defibrillators in the town centre and a further nine housed within businesses for use during their opening hours. As part of the work to raise awareness about defibrillators Mike Kirkham has also developed a digital defibrillator champion badge for partner organisations to demonstrate their support. He added: “We are very grateful to all the businesses that support the defibrillators and to Bury St Edmunds Town Council who have recently funded some ongoing maintenance of them. This digital badge for their websites or social media is a chance for them to show what an important role they play in their community.”
Defibrillators can be used by anyone, with or without first aid training. They are fully automated and guide the user through every step of administering defibrillation on a casualty. With 20% of out of hospital cardiac arrests happening in public places then the availability of a defibrillator and ability to perform CPR is critical. A defibrillator used alongside quality CPR means the odds of survival jump from 6% to 75%.
