Congleton First Responders, in partnership with Congleton Town Council have made our community a safer place by becoming CardiacSmart with the North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust (NWAS).
Congleton First Responders had to fulfill a series of tough criteria to gain their GOLD CardiacSmart award, the highest possible accolade available. The aim of the CardiacSmart award is to recognise local community groups and businesses for their dedication to raising awareness of heart health, basic life support and public access defibrillators.
The CardiacSmart initiative, born from the Chain of Survival Partnership, works to extend the blanket coverage of public access Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) and provide more individuals with training in basic life support; in order to improve a cardiac arrest victim’s chance of survival.
Around 30,000 people suffer a cardiac arrest outside of hospital each year, and with every minute a person does not receive treatment their chance of survival decreases by 10%. Cardiac arrest is the most extreme case of an emergency, as the patient loses consciousness at once and there are no signs of life. Defibrillators give an electric shock through the chest wall and help to restore a normal heartbeat.
No one knows who will suffer from cardiac arrest, but what is known is that the speed of response, Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and defibrillation within the first few minutes will improve the patient’s chance of survival and recovery.
Team Leader of Congleton First Responders, Kate Bonney, says “Making Congleton a safer place to live, work and visit by providing the community with emergency life support training, and access to public defibrillators is a fantastic and positive initiative. Our friendly team offer relaxed and informal courses on how to deal with a variety of life threatening medical emergencies. It’s really easy to make a difference and learn the skills to potentially save a life. With the addition of numerous AEDs around Congleton, and many local residents trained in the safe use of these wonderful life saving machines, the potential to save a cardiac arrest victim is now significantly increased. I am delighted that our hard work and efforts have been recognised by winning the highest possible accolade of a GOLD award for our community, which will be displayed in the town hall”.
Town Mayor, Cllr George Hayes says of the achievement, “Congratulations to the First Responders on this prestigious award. Having a reliable team of First Responders serving our community is so incredibly important and helps save lives. They have my whole-hearted support and gratitude.”
For more information about FREE training courses, or to join our friendly team of volunteer First Responders, contact the Team Leader on 07931 748902, or email congletonfr@aol.com.
For more information on the CardiacSmart initiative, defibrillators, educational resources and news/events please visit www.cardiacsmart.nwas.nhs.uk.
