Member Article

West Bedlington Council installs defibrillators around town

A TRIO of defibrillators are to be installed in the Northumberland town of Bedlington in a bid to reduce the potential threat of fatality from cardiac arrest.

The defibrillators, which will be accessible from a number of carefully planned locations throughout the town including forthcoming new care home Baedling Manor, deliver a high energy electric shock to the heart and is safe to be used by members of the public if needed in an emergency by following simple instructions.

The Council stresses that equipment cannot be misused or compromise the health and well-being of a person if used and the devices will be available for emergency use 24/7 linked directly to the NHS.

Healthcare provider Alcyone Healthcare’s care home, Baedling Manor, is one of three businesses to have sponsored the West Bedlington Town Council initiative after each company involved, including Bedlington Free Masons, West Bedlington Town Council and Alcyone Healthcare invested £1500 each for the lifesaving equipment as part of the Town Council’s defibrillator project budget to enhance the wellbeing and safety of the community. A fourth mobile defibrillator was sponsored by and for the use of Bedlington Town FC, at its home ground.

West Bedlington Town Council Mayor Malcom Robinson said: “As a town Council, we feel the provision of the defibrillator units will be of enormous benefit to the whole community – residents and businesses. Our vision was to become the first in Northumberland, and probably regional, town to have this number of these vital pieces of equipment available 24/7, and thanks to the generosity of local enterprise, we have made this a reality.

“Locations such as Baedling Manor has not only paid for one, but also agreed to mount it outside on the exterior wall of their new care home so the middle of Bedlington has immediate access to it. In much the same way as the Freemasons and their Masonic Lodge at the top end of the Town.

“Many thanks too to Darren at Alcyone Healthcare for agreeing to have one installed on his building.

“Every year in the North East thousands of people die after suffering sudden cardiac arrests and statistics prove that using defibrillators could help save many of those lives.

“Hopefully they will never need to be used but if they save just one person, then they will have paid for themselves and made all the efforts worthwhile.”

In the event of a cardiac arrest an ambulance should always be called. However, if there is someone present who has the capacity to use a defibrillators, the survival rate of the victim is made considerably higher.

Managing director for Alcyone Healthcare Darren Taylor said: “Sudden cardiac arrest is the UK’s biggest killer, with 100,000 people dying per year, including as many as 15 children and young persons per a week, from conditions such as sudden death syndrome (SDS) and heart attacks.

“As a care provider it is vitally important that we do everything we can to help preserve life and promote well-being and provide as much care and support as possible not just to our residents, but to the entire community in which we serve, in the hope that we can make a positive contribution to reduce these shocking statistics.

“We were delighted to support West Bedlington Council by funding one of these pieces of life saving equipment as we see great value in putting Baedling Manor on the map even prior to our forthcoming opening, as a vital community resource that not only delivers the highest quality care but becomes recognised as an essential part of community living here in Bedlington.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Alcyone Healthcare .