Defibrillators do save lives

It is quite common to hear people saying that AEDs (defibrillators) are complicated to use and even some of the learners that attend our first aid courses say the same. Our learners are very surprised that when they use the training AEDs how easy they are to use by listening to the machine and carrying out the tasks it tells you to do.

They thought they can only be used by trained medical people and soon realise that this is not the case, but not using one could potentially cost someone their life.

Here at Warwickshire First Aid Training, we proved the point recently by getting a 4-year lad and an elderly man of 81 years of age to use a training defibrillator.

You know what? they both used the training defibrillator on a manakin and carried out CPR too.

You have just got to press that GREEN button to fire it up

To use this amazing piece of life-saving equipment you just need to do is press the GREEN BUTTON to switch the machine on and it will start speaking to you as it sets itself up.

It will tell you where to place the pads on the body and then ask you not to touch the body whilst the machine analyses the casualty’s heart, the AED will then decide whether a shock is necessary or not.

So nothing really complicated there then is there, other than a machine telling you how to do your bit.

If AEDs are so complicated to use why are they available in so many public places these days, I bet you have noticed them whilst going about your daily life haven’t you.

You will find them in secure cabinets on walls in shopping centres with a keypad to open them, I recently saw one in an old red telephone box that had been repurposed to hold a defibrillator so it could be used in a sleepy village in the Cotswolds. I

have even found one on the outside wall of a funeral directors office and now that did surprise me and did get me smiling too.

If a public AED gets registered on to the national system then The Ambulance Service will know where the nearest one is to a casualty if it is needed.

They will give you the location of the nearest one and when you arrive at that location you will be asked for the cabinet number and they will give you the code to open the secure box.

Then you can retrieve the AED and the hygiene pack with it and take it back to where the casualty is.

Using a defibrillator (AED) has been mandatory on all work-based first aid courses since 2015, we have included them in all courses since 2015 because it brings awareness that they save lives.

First aid courses for the workplace such as QNUK Level 3 Award in QNUK Level 3 Award in Emergency first aid at work (RQF) (RQF) and QNUK Level 3 Award in QNUK Level 3 Award in First aid at work course (RQF) have AED training included as standard, and this meets all HSE and UK Resuscitation Council guidelines.

We even have specialist 1/2 day courses on how to use them and our QNUK Level 3 Award in Responding to Incidents with an AED (RQF) and our QNUK Level 2 Award in Basic Life Support (Adult & Child) (RQF) have proven really popular with members of the public.

Whilst it is true that a first aider would have the knowledge to give the best possible CPR and YES this would make a greater difference, but if you do absolutely nothing then that person will more than likely die or suffer severe disabilities for the rest of their life.

They can restart the heart… (WHAT….)

Another myth is that AEDs can restart hearts, in fact, AEDs stop the heart to allow the heart to restart and regain its natural rhythm and the AED will monitor the heart and will ONLY SHOCK again if necessary.

Using an AED (defibrillator) within the first 3 minutes of someone having a Serious Cardiac Arrest (SCA) they will have a 70% chance of life, for every minute wasted that drops by another 10%.

So early intervention with an AED is key for that person’s survival.

Can using one make a bad situation worse?…(NO it cannot)

You CANNOT make the situation any worse by using an AED, in fact, the AED will tell you if a shock is required or not. The AED will monitor the person’s heart and store the data on the machine so the ambulance crew can download it and send it to the hospital.

Where can I learn to use an AED?

First aid training providers throughout the country provide AED training as standard on first aid courses in the workplace, and many have standalone courses that last around ½ a day.

Defibrillator training has definitely increased with us over the last 5 years and many businesses today have defibrillators in their workplace because they realise the faster they can get a defibrillator to someone who requires it because this makes a BIG difference to that person’s outcome…