New Cross Fire Station is hosting a ‘Restart A Heart’ (RSAH) training day on Saturday 5 October and is calling on people from the local area to book a life-saving session. The initiative is taking place to teach Londoners across Lewisham, New Cross, and Southwark areas how to access and use a defibrillator.
Defibrillators are a life-saving device used in medical emergencies when someone goes into a cardiac arrest and the heart suddenly stops beating. Early defibrillation within three to five minutes of collapse can increase survival rates by up to 50-70%*.
Recent data reveals that 61% of people aren’t confident enough to use a defibrillator **, and research shows that access to one is lacking in the most deprived areas, which are tragically among the communities at greatest risk of a cardiac arrest.
Sub Officer Michael Edwards, who is organising the event, said: “With 80% of cardiac arrests happening in the home, it is vital that as many people as possible learn this lifesaving skill. It may be a loved one who suffers a cardiac arrest - and it’s crucial to begin CPR and defibrillation as soon as possible to help their chances of survival.
“Publicly available defibrillators are straight forward to use, it will provide clear instructions and talk you through what you need to do.
” Defibrillators are disproportionately placed in affluent areas; we need to ensure they’re located in more locations. Anyone looking after a defibrillator (defib) – such as those in charge of pubs, sports clubs, community centres, churches, village halls – should make it accessible to the public 24/7.
“New Cross Fire Station is hosting this event to increase the number of people trained in CPR and defibrillation awareness. Book your FREE place today!”
Back in 2018 Cassie Prins found her husband needed a defibrillator to help save her husband’s life. She’s now hoping that everyone does the training so they can help save a life. She said: “I’m so pleased to hear about this initiative. Using a defibrillator (defib) is something really simple we could all learn. I can speak from experience as I was very nearly a widow at 42 when my husband, a fit-as-a-fiddle 43 year old, dropped down from an undiagnosed heart condition and had a cardiac arrest.
“He was lucky enough to be at the train station where a sports coach and a buildings project manager both had some first aid training through work. One ran to get the nearest defibrillator. It was their CPR training that I thank for keeping him alive. Luckily by the time they got back with the defib, the ambulance crew were already using their own one to shock him. Three shocks later he came back to us.
“Six years on and the availability of machines is even wider and every minute with a defib increases the chances of survival. The machines are so clever these days, they talk you through what you need to do and have pictures so it really is that simple. I would encourage everyone to book on the course. Our kids wouldn’t have had their dad without one and some everyday heroes.”
Book a 30 minute session between 10.30am and 3pm on Saturday 5 October 2024 at New Cross Fire Station, London SE14 5JN, here: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/266-queens-road/new-cross-fire-station/restart-a-heart/
*Early defibrillation within 3–5 min of collapse can increase survival rates by 50% - https://www.resuscitationjournal.com/article/S0300-9572(21)00444-5/fulltext
**Recent data shows 61% of people aren’t confident enough to use a defib: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/med/research/ctu/trials/ohcao/publications/surveys/attitudes_to_cpr_survey_2022_final.pdf