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I'm chairman of a running club. We have a reasonable amount of money in our account and I wanted to use some of it to supply something that benefits our town in some way. After putting my idea out to the club members several of them suggested that we pay for a defib to be installed near the pub that we use as a meeting place, and provide money for it's upkeep. This sounds like a good idea to me. Obviously we will be approaching the local residents group and the pub first. Has anyone been through the process of getting one? Any tips etc?
I have got one for the Tennis club and the Scout group my kids were members off. A quick skim of the site footflaps posted suggests common sense.
Bear in mind there are ongoing costs. Batteries and pads have a lifespan. There has to be traceability of the device in case of software patches etc. You may need a formal club with premises. The rules in UK may be different as I did this in AUS.
Thankfully neither has ever needed to be used in the last 5 years.
if you get one, register it with the GoodSAM site, and download the app this allows people to know where its located (and also accessible hours eg if its inside a bulding rather than on an outside wall).
The 999 ambulance service dont have a database of all publicly available defibs so if you ring them they dont know (or didnt last time i had to call them) where the nearest public one is. The GoodSAM site / app allows 1st responers ( anyone who wants to use a defib in an emergeny )to locate the nearest one. This is what the NW ambulance CPR training guy told me at my last training session
https://www.goodsamapp.org/aed
Where are you in the country, as there are schemes and charities around who will support you through this process, including Heartstart & St John Ambulance service. Again, depending on location, you may need to factor in the cost of supplying and installing a warm box for it, with a trickle heater in cold weather. You will also need to nominate a person or crew of volunteers to carry out periodical checks (eg monthly) and to liaise with your local NHS ambulance operator over keeping the unit on their register as a 'Public Access Defib'.
I've been through the process a couple of times here in Angus and it's reasonably straightforward.
I also have a privately owned (Scottish Ultra Marathon Series) additional unit along with suitable associated kit that I take to running events.
Does your LAS provide any help / guidance? Â Eg our train station has just had a defib fitted with 24/7 access via a key code on the front provided by the ambulance service call handler. Â They may have models they prefer to talk novices through over the phone?
they may also suggest that the pub is not strategically the best location (or they may think it happens to be right in the middle of defib black spot).
ed34- just saw your post. Does the English ambulance service not have a register.? Am stunned.
We've had this up here in Scotland for several years and it's effective; if Joe Public calls 999 with a clear category of patient, Ambulance Control tell the caller to send a helper to get the nearest unit and bring to the site.
Contact your local ambulance service, they should have a community resuscitation officer who will be able to point you in the right direction of which defib to buy and they'll also be able to arrange training for you and your club.
Highlandman - I had to call 999 in May this year for a child with severe breathing problems. They asked me if I knew where my nearest defib was and I didn't as I wasn't in my local area, I asked where it was and they just said they weren't sure but ambulance was on its way.
I was at my annual CPR day a few weeks later and the paramedic trainer (NW ambulamce service, not St Johns) mentioned everyone should download the goodSAM app as 999 operators didn't have a list of all defibs. He said they do know of some that have been provided by council or 1st responder groups but there's a lot around e.g. in shops, pubs, dental surgeries that they don't know of.
There's 2 apps you can download, Â one is goodSAM alerted, which everyone should have, it will show the nearest defibs and can send an alert to the nearest people who have registered to help if you come across an emergency.
The other app is goodSAM responder where you can register as a responder if you are confident in dealing with CPR and have access to a defib. You then get a phone alert if there's an emergency near you.
I've not had to use the apps, just downloaded them and registered on the advice of the paramedic who ran our course
There may be local charity that helps with these your ambulance service trust should be able to advise.
The 999 ambulance service dont have a database of all publicly available defibs so if you ring them they dont know (or didnt last time i had to call them) where the nearest public one is.
Our trust certainly does if they've been registered they show up, have done for a good number of years.
Knew I had also read something recent too.
Thanks for all the replies. Food for thought there.