Cardiac Arrest Survival

Buying a defibrillator is one of the best things that any organisation can do.

When someone has a cardiac arrest there is an average of 3-5% chance of survival (across the whole of Europe about 6% in the UK).

There are 2 things that can make a difference:

• High Quality Minimally Interrupted Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)
• Early Defibrillation

So if you can get someone doing CPR and get the casualty defibrillated then what is the chance of survival?

It could be as much as 74% (given the casualty having been in Cardiac Arrest for 3 minutes. You could be looking at a higher chance of survival if the casualty is defibrillated earlier)

What would you rather have/give 6% or 74%?

The estimation is that the chances of surviving can drop by as much as 10-14% per minute.

The difference between surviving and not is Early CPR & Early Defibrillation followed by Early Hospital Care.

IOSH raising concerns over businesses' lack of defibrillator presence

IOSH study reveals the shocking fact that LESS THAN 50% of businesses do not have defibrillators. The poll released on 18th February 2013 shows that most business that don't have defibrillators (from large to small companies) felt there was no need, others put it down to cost.

IOSH research and information services manager Jane White said:

This is actually worrying news for us

The poll results revealed that those working in education were hit the worst and retail workers in two thirds of companies said they didn't have one and office based staff had a fifty percent chance of having a defibrillator on site.

Ms White said:

We want businesses to take a good look at the number of employees they have, their demographics and the kind of sector they work in, to assess whether they should get a defibrillator on-site.

If someone suffers a cardiac arrest at work and does not survive, it is devastating for their family, friends and workmates and it can also cause a great deal of stress for the person giving CPR. Companies also need to consider the impact of losing a member of staff on their fellow employees, factoring in the cost of down-time, counselling and any replacement or training of staff. The message here is not only an ethical one, it also has financial implications. Of course, a defibrillator is good health and safety practice because it saves lives, but it also makes sound business sense.

can big companies with healthy turnovers afford not to have one?

Defibrillator Training

At Albacare we are renowned for our defibrillator training. Our training course is not just about using the defibrillator. It is CRITICAL that during the use of a defibrillator, when the casualty's life hangs in the balance, that we exploit every available second!

What we train people to do is fully manage a casualty in cardiac arrest. By ensuring the the trained individual is as ready for each of the essential steps of the cardiac arrest.

This casualty's chance of survival will be reducing by as much as 14% per minute!

With each minute as crucial as this we have engineered our course to consider these factors and ensure the the delegate is able to respond to the variety of difficult and pressurised needs of the casualty.

Course Content:

• This is a 4 Hour course focusing on defibrillation and CPR
• CPR (with extended CPR sessions demonstrating physical needs)
• Recovery Position
• Action for vomiting in unconscious causalty
• Turning a casualty from front to back
• Theory behind defibrillation
• Practical scenario based CPR with incorporation of the defibrillator
• Trouble shooting guidance
• Guide to "ideal" defibrillation practice
• Cautions and considerations when using defibrillators