Across Wales there are many examples where the local church is at the heart of the community, but St James’ Church in Wick, Vale of Glamorgan has taken the word ‘heart’ one step further by becoming the first church in an innovative project to install Public Access Defibrillators (PADS) on church buildings for use on cardiac arrest victims in the locality.
Hosted by the Church in Wales, funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF), and supported in training by the Welsh Ambulance Service (WAS), the project will make PADS available for remote communities across Wales and will provide a possible life-saving resource for members of the public who suffer sudden traumatic collapses.
The PADS allows the public to follow easily understood instructions which will help give people who have suffered a cardiac arrest a chance of survival.
WAS, in partnership with the Welsh Government, has trained over 4000 volunteers across Wales to man PADS sites in places such as railway stations and leisure centres, and even down the Big Pit mining museum and up on top of Snowdon, but this is the first PADS sited at a church.
The defibrillator is to be placed on the wall in the porch of St James’ Church in Wick at a scheme launch ceremony at 10am on Friday 3rd August (all are welcome) when the Archbishop of Wales Dr Barry Morgan will convey a blessing on the defibrillator.
For those living in the area, however, there will be a chance for a sneaky preview of the defibrillator before the official launch by the Archbishop. A team from the Welsh Ambulance Service is holding a public awareness evening at the church on Wednesday, 1stAugust at 7pm (everyone is invited).
“This is a very important and innovative move on the part of the Church in Wales and I’m very pleased to be attending its launch,” commented Dr Morgan.
“I’ve blessed some unusual places and items over the years, but this is the first I’ve done for a defibrillator which, ironically of course, I hope will never have to be used. However, parishioners and the community of Wick as a whole can hopefully take great comfort form the fact that the defibrillator is available to them.
“It shows that the Church in Wales is a holistic, caring church – body and soul. We appreciate and respect the communities we are in and care for the population as a whole whatever their beliefs.”
Welsh Ambulance Service National PADS Manager, Gerard Rothwell added:
“Over the past two years we’ve launched a PADS site deep underground at Big Pit, and high up on top of Snowdon but now, thanks to the Church in Wales we’re on even higher and sacred ground! But the intention is the same, which is to save lives, and we are very pleased to be able to work with the Church and the BHF to make this happen.
“We look forward to extending the scheme to several other remote churches and communities across Wales.”
The purpose of the PADS is to identify public areas that will benefit from having volunteers trained to perform basic life support in conjunction with using an automated external defibrillator. Volunteers can then respond to victims suffering a cardiac arrest and deliver appropriate care until the ambulance service arrives on scene.
Elaine Tanner, BHF Cymru Development Manager for Wales said: “We are delighted to be able to support this new initiative. A cardiac arrest is the ultimate medical emergency – early defibrillation must be given if the patient has any chance of surviving. Only 3% of people who don’t have access to a lifesaving defibrillator survive. This is a shockingly low figure. Defibrillators placed strategically across Wales in areas of high footfall can save lives. Many more Welsh lives could be saved with more defibs in the community. That is why BHF Cymru are launching a new high profile appeal at the National Eisteddfod in August, working with the Welsh Ambulance Service to fund more community resuscitation initiatives across our communities.”
WAS Chief Executive Elwyn Price-Morris added:
“I’m very proud that we are able to play our part in supporting the placement of PADS across Wales, and in particular in this case outside churches. It’s an excellent idea and we are very grateful to the Church in Wales for allowing the placement of defibrillators on their buildings, and grateful to the BHF for financing the project.
“It is important that members of the public understand the difference they can make by learning these important but simple skills because the best chance of someone surviving a cardiac arrest is to get a defibrillator to them in the vital first few minutes.”
