The Inns Court Community & Family Centre has installed a new defibrillator
Saving Lives Together: The Inns Court Community & Family Centre has installed a new defibrillator.
Thanks to Inns Court Community & Family Centre, The George Bairstow Charitable Trust, and Great Western Air Ambulance Charity (GWAAC), residents of Inns Court and Knowle will now have the best chance on their worst day.
A public access defibrillator has been installed on the Centre building and is ready for use if someone nearby goes into cardiac arrest.
Local Councillor Christopher Jackson says it is “Great news for the community of Filwood to get its second defibrillator installed with training given to staff and residents in the area. Hopefully, this will not need to be used but these defibrillators can save lives.”
Early CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and defibrillation can raise survival rates from 1 in 10 to as much as 7 in 10 making defibrillators vital community assets.
GWAAC’s Critical Care Doctors, Advanced Clinical Practitioners, and Specialist Paramedics in Critical Care provide emergency pre-hospital care to around 2000 people a year; people who are in a condition so grave that they need specialist skills and equipment at the scene.
They treat over 500 cardiac arrest patients a year, yet despite the extraordinary skills the crew brings to the scene, patient survival is highly dependent on other key steps prior to their arrival.
The new defibrillator at Inns Court Community & Family Centre, was part of a package provided by GWAAC, alongside CPR and defibrillation training. Through its public access defibrillator campaign, GWAAC works to prevent avoidable and needless deaths, where anyone who suffers a cardiac arrest receives immediate CPR and then defibrillation within five minutes.
Early CPR and defibrillation are vital links in the chain of survival; doing both can dramatically increase survival rates. This is why it is so important that the community rallies together to get more defibrillators.
Made possible thanks to the George Bairstow Charitable Trust
This defibrillator has been kindly funded by the George Bairstow Charitable Trust which has supported GWAAC’s work in schools for many years, funding Heartstarters – GWAAC’s dedicated team of medical volunteers – to train thousands of school students in CPR and using a defibrillator. Their support is now helping to install defibrillators in areas where they are most needed.
Support from Lisa Gilbert at Inns Court was also vital in getting this defibrillator installed:
“It is a great honour and privilege to have received this wonderful lifesaving gift at our centre. Knowing that lives could be saved because of it gives you a huge sense of pride. A big thank you to BS3 Electrical Services for installing it for us free of charge.”
Lisa Gilbert, Sprint & Centre Administrator, The Inns Court Community & Family Centre
GWAAC’s public access defibrillator campaign will mean more people survive, like, Forrest Wheeler who collapsed in Pittville Park, Cheltenham. Thanks to early CPR, early defibrillation, and GWAAC’s Critical Care Team who put Forrest in an induced coma, he is still here and has these pearls of wisdom to share:
“If anyone takes anything away from my story, it’s that if you have any hesitations about using a defibrillator – don’t. My message is, just use it. The machine tells you what to do, it’s so easy and it’s better to give it a go than not try at all.”
If you would like to fundraise for or purchase a defibrillator for your community, please get in touch with the GWAAC team by emailing lisa.warrington@gwaac.com, visiting gwaac.com/aed or calling Lisa, Defibrillator Coordinator on 07596 566175.
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