The national charity 'The Community HeartBeat Trust' is working closely with BT and local villages to provide defibrillators into the community.
In the event of sudden cardiac arrest the life expectancy of the patient can decrease up to 23% per minute from the event. In a rural area it can be many minutes before the ambulance service attends, therefore time is critical. Marston now has its own defibrillator, situated in the old telephone box on Main Street. It has been provided at the instigation of Marston Parish Council and paid for by a grant.
Community Public Access Defibrillation (cPAD) has only become a reality for local communities in the past couple of years, as the technology and the guidelines from the governing agencies such as the UK Resuscitation Council (UKRC) have been amended. The need for training has been reduced for the latest compliant defibrillation equipment and, although still desirable, it is not necessary even for members of the public. The cPAD is contained within a vandal resistant box. The equipment can be accessed by anyone to assist a patient with a sudden cardiac arrest. In such an event, 999 must be called first and the ambulance service will give the access code to the box to enable the defibrillator to be used, although the keycode is also kept by locally trained people as well.
East Midlands Ambulance Service fully supports the provision of cPAD schemes, and there are several in villages around the region.
Your defibrillator is there to try to help save a life.
REMEMBER - YOU CANNOT HARM THE PATIENT!