Could you restart a heart?

With the aim of raising awareness of cardiac arrest, European ‘Restart a Heart’ day takes place on October 16^th 2014. The message is clear: “your hands can save a loved one’s life”.

Every year, over 30,000 people in the UK suffer a cardiac arrest out of hospital. Less than one in ten people survive. Unlike the hospital environment, there may not be clinical professionals nearby and time is of the essence. In Norway, where cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is taught to members of the general public and all pupils at school, one in four people survive. If the UK was to achieve the same survival rates as Norway, we could save almost 5,000 more lives every year.

Today NHS Borders was delighted to hand over 50 defibrillators to Scottish HART, a Selkirk based charity who raise funds for research into Cardiomyopathy and other heart diseases. Scottish HART are working tirelessly with communities across the Borders to ensure that defibrillators are available and can be readily accessed by members of the public when required. When CPR and defibrillation are used together chances of survival from a sudden cardiac arrest increase from 9% to 50%.

Wilma Gunn, Chair and founder of Scottish HART said “Speed is key in cardiac arrest survival. The quicker the intervention, the better the outcome.  These additional defibrillators in the Borders should have a significant impact on the survival rates of cardiac arrests in the community. We are truly grateful for this donation.”

The defibrillators were purchased by NHS Borders as a result of the annual gifting from the Royal Voluntary Service (RVS). Jean Trench, Area Manager for RVS said:  “The RVS wants to help create a society where everyone feels valued and involved whatever their age. We are delighted to have been able to contribute to such a valuable project for the people of the Borders. Every purchase made in our retail outlets within NHS Borders hospitals contributes to our gifting, and it is very appropriate that this money has funded an initiative which will impact on every community, including older people and their families.”

Community defibrillators are set up so that absolutely anyone can use them, and no harm can be done either to the person using the equipment or the person who has suffered the arrest. Once installed, the Scottish Ambulance Service will be advised of the new defibrillator locations, which will be mapped into their command and control system, so that members of the public can be directed to them when emergency situations arise.

In addition to the donation to Scottish HART, NHS Borders has donated two defibrillators to Borders College, and staff and students will be offered CPR training. Explaining the importance of learning CPR, NHS Borders’ Resuscitation Officer, Rod McIntosh, said: “a cardiac arrest is the ultimate medical emergency. The worst thing that can be done is nothing. Administering CPR can preserve intact brain function whilst a defibrillator is being retrieved. When used in conjunction with one another, outcomes are significantly improved for patients and more lives can be saved.”

Commenting on the partnership with NHS Borders and Scottish HART, College Principal Liz McIntyre said: “This donation will enable us to provide our students and staff with the skills to support this important agenda. We have students and staff from all over the Borders, and by equipping them with these skills we can all help boost cardiac arrest survival rates in our communities.”

Vice Chair of NHS Borders, Dr Doreen Steele summed up the enthusiasm of everyone involved in the initiative by saying: “NHS Borders is delighted to be working with so many partner organisations to ensure the best outcomes for the people of the Borders. In addition to our ongoing work with Scottish HART and Borders College, we are also embarking on a very exciting project with the British Heart Foundation, the details of which will be released very soon.

“On behalf of the Board I would like to express our sincere thanks to everyone involved and encourage the public to familiarise themselves with the location of community defibrillators so that they can act quickly in an emergency situation and help save a life.”