We are fund raising to support the North West Ambulance Service in providing access to defibrillators (AED) across the region. For every minute that goes by where a victim of Sudden Cardiac Arrest does not receive treatment, their chance of survival decreases by 10%.  If defibrillation through a defibrillator occurs within 1 minute of the victim collapsing, the victim’s survival rate increases to 90%

For residents in the Rufford Park, Mere Sands and Holmeswood areas the nearest AED would take 10 minutes to collect and fetch back.  So, unless we have more ready access to an AED, the chances of a patient surviving a heart attack are about Zero!

All donations will go to the NWAS -  who are there for us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. The charity provides lifesaving equipment, education programmes, community first responders and mental health & well-being programmes.  They, in turn, will help us install a defibrillator that will be accessible for all local residents and visitors.

I hope you will help this community make a difference to someone’s life by donating whatever you can afford to. By working with NWAS, we ensure that 100% of your donation will go towards this project. Please do not forget to complete the Gift Aid declaration.

Some Facts About Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA)

• 270 children die in the UK every year after
  suffering a Sudden Cardiac Arrest at school
• Based on European data, it is estimated that there
  is approximately 60,000 Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrests (OHCA) occur every year
  in the UK
• In England alone, the Ambulance Service attempts
  resuscitation in around 30,000 OHCA cases, annually
• Approximately 80% of Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrests
  occur at Home; 20% will occur in public places
• Without immediate treatment, 90-95% of Sudden
  Cardiac Arrest victims will die
• If a defibrillator is used and effective CPR is
  performed within 3-5 minutes of cardiac arrest, their chance of survival
  increases from 6% to 74%
• Only 22% of people in the UK would be confident in
  performing CPR on a stranger

Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) Risk Factors

• There are usually no prior warning signs associated
  with Sudden Cardiac Arrest
• Factors such as the patient’s current health
  condition, gender, age and ethnicity do not factor when determining the cause
  of Sudden Cardiac Arrest
• Most Sudden Cardiac Arrest cases are due to an
  abnormality of the heart’s electrical rhythm called Ventricular Fibrillation
  (VF)
• Physically strenuous jobs will put people at a
  higher risk of falling victim to Sudden Cardiac Arrest
• Factors such as having a high blood pressure
  reading, obesity, smoking, high cholesterol levels, congenital heart disease
  (CHD) and diabetes can make a person more susceptible to Sudden Cardiac Arrest
• Additional things such as electrocution, drowning,
  trauma, choking or respiratory arrest can potentially lead to Sudden Cardiac
  Arrest

Response Times and Their Importance

• The emergency services average response time to a
  cardiac event related incident in an urban area is 11 minutes
• For every minute that goes by where a victim of
  Sudden Cardiac Arrest does not receive treatment, their chance of survival
  decreases by 10%
• If defibrillation through a defibrillator occurs
  within 1 minute of the victim collapsing, the victim’s survival rate increases
  to 90%
• For defibrillation to be successful, it needs to be
  delivered within a few minutes of the patient’s heart entering into Ventricular
  Fibrillation (VF), but this period can be extended slightly if a bystander
  provides effective Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) without delay or
  hesitancy
• You can’t cause harm to the patient by performing
  CPR or using an AED
• Basic first aid will maintain an oxygen supply to
  the patient’s brain and other vital organs and make it more likely that the
  heart can be restarted by a defibrillator

NB: The main reason so few people survive Sudden Cardiac Arrest is due to defibrillation not being provided quickly enough after they have collapsed.