3rd May 2017
NIAS has been working with ‘parkrun’ in Northern Ireland to encourage registration of public access defibrillators, and we would like to urge anyone responsible for one, that hasn’t yet done so, to register it with us by filling out our online form at https://nias.hscni.net/our-services/aed
By registering your AED with the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service, it means that our Emergency Control Operators can direct a caller to the nearest defibrillator, potentially saving a life.
The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service attempts resuscitation on over 2000 people suffering a pre-hospital cardiac arrest each year.
For every minute that passes whilst in cardiac arrest, chances of survival decrease by 10%.
Increasing the availability of Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) throughout Northern Ireland would, without a doubt, improve our cardiac arrest survival rates.
When someone suffers a cardiac arrest, their heart stops and blood is no longer being pumped around their body. The longer the patient waits for emergency life-support, the harder it becomes to restart their heart.
A defibrillator is a device used to give an electric shock to help restart a heart when it is in cardiac arrest. If more public access defibrillators were available, more people could receive a lifesaving shock as quickly as possible, before the arrival of an Ambulance, giving them the greatest chance of survival.
AEDs are safe and easy to use by anyone with little or no training. The device tells you, and displays what you need to do, with many devices also showing pictures.
The best possible chance for someone’s survival is for them to receive immediate effective cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and early defibrillation.
This is where you and your community, organisation or business could make a difference.