I don’t and I worry about it I feel that it is something I should know .
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we’ve got 3 dotted around the village and I’m ashamed to say I wouldn’t have a clue how to use one
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We have one on the wall of the village hall fitted with a light sensor for easy access at night. Each person in the village has been given a code and instructions . The code is also on the notice board.
First call 999,
go to the box and enter the code.
remove the orange case and take it to the person who is ill,
turn on the defibrillator by pressing the large button and a voice will instruct you what to do,
the sensor pads detect the heart rhythm and administer a shock only if it is needed…
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Thank you Meg
I wonder if they all have codes
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I guess so Muddy to stop children playing with them .
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Kiss of life is the way to go. No complaints so far
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One thing I have often wondered, especially in these days of young idiots drunk or otherwise, is how are they protected against vandalism?
Of course, no-one with a couple of functioning brain cells would ever think about damaging them, but that excludes quite a number of young people these days, I’m afraid.
Yes because I was a qualified first aider but it’s lapsed now. As Meg says the machine is pretty easy to use if you need it, the difficult bit is knowing whether it should be used and finding it in the first place. We were advised to give CPR until the ambulance arrives. The defib should only be used by a medic. Even CPR or the Heimlich manoeuvre have led to people being sued. You are no longer meant to do the latter.
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I don’t know CPR either although form what I understand it’s a last desperate effort .
So what is the use of a defibrillator if it can only be used by a medic . They are all over the place how long would it take a medic to get to an emergency to use them ?
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Really? I can’t believe it.
I can do both, and I had always been prepared to do either if necessary.
Having heard this, I’m not sure now whether I’d want to.
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When they say ‘medic’ I suspect that they include ambulance people. Of course, how long would it take for them to get there too?
They are always changing the rules.
CPR is considered the right thing to do but Heimlich can or has torn diaphragms etc and is not recommended by trainers. You’re meant to bang people on the back and if that doesn’t work turn them upside down and hit them harder. If a heavy object is on top of someone you are advised to leave it in place and call an ambulance while comforting them.
It really was an eye opener particularly carefully putting a dressing around an embedded piece of glass. The instinct would be to pull it out. Despite seeing so many in the movies put tourniquets on to stop a haemorrhage in an emergency this is a no-no.
Yes they meant the paramedics, unless of course they say is there a doctor in the house and strike it lucky.
CPR can keep people’s brain oxygenated while you wait for help to arrive. I found it extremely difficult as the pressure required and time you have to do it is like doing push ups. My wrists were killing me and this was 8 years ago. I don’t think I could do it on my own if I had to.
Yes and I’m trained in CPR and first aid
Yes, it can be hard work. What I found amusing fairly recently was when I heard from someone that you had to do the chest compressions in time with the song ‘Nellie the Elephant’. My immediate thought was, doesn’t it matter how quickly/slowly you sing it?
When I was training a long time ago, we were taught to do it using a ‘Resusci Anne’ doll which had a built-in print-out feature to show whether the compressions were of the correct force and pace. Of course, that was a long time ago now and they probably don’t have them now.
Yep it was the Annie doll they used too! The strangest part of the course was seeing these macabre contraptions lying around the room in a casual manner. It seems they have a spooky history too (see the link below…)
I’m curious - do you have the same rules in Canada - no tourniquets, no heimlich etc? I was wondering whether these rules are international or down to local public health guidance.
I attended a talk at the local council centre on how to use the defibrillators they had installed, can’t remember a thing about it BUT each machine has full, detailed, clear instructions on it in big writing on the actual device so if I was ever called upon to use one I feel fairly confident I could.
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Yes. Exactly the same.
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