Angmering heart kit already proving itself a life-saver

The NHS has provided a defibrillator for use on people who are suspected to have suffered a heart attack.

The device can be used by anyone and gives step-by-step instructions which could help to give treatment in the vital minutes during the time that an ambulance or paramedics are on their way, and make all the difference between a life saved and a life lost.

The free training sessions, each lasting an hour, are on Saturday, July 20, at 9.30, 10.30 and 11.30am and will be led by a qualified instructor. Users of the centre, as well as people living in the village, are being encouraged to take part.

The defibrillator was pressed into service only the day after it was installed last month, when a member of a cardiac rehabilitation group meeting at the centre was taken ill.

With clear instructions and voice prompts for each stage of its use, the equipment detects whether the casualty needs to be given an electric shock or not, so the user does not have to make that decision.

Val Jerram, chairman of the centre’s trustees, said she had concerns initially about the defibrillator being placed in a cabinet on the outside wall near the entrance, but NHS officials were adamant it should be located where it could be reached 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and that the ability to save a life at any time had to be weighed against possible theft or vandalism.

She explained: “When a 999 call is received, people living in the area will be told that there is a defibrillator at the community centre, and that they may be able to get that before an ambulance can arrive.

“I just hope that it will not be vandalised or stolen – that all will realise that it is there to save a life.”

For more details, call 01903 773982 or email [email protected]