Shire Hall manager Mike Booth, County Councillor David Dovey and Sharon Owen of Welsh Hearts
Monmouthshire County Council has acquired two more defibrillators to protect its staff and visitors to key buildings within the authority – adding to the seven it already holds.
Charity Welsh Hearts supplied the two devices when representative Sharon Owen paid a call to the council’s Usk headquarters and presented them to the authority’s Chairman, County Councillor David Dovey. An Automated External Defibrillator (AED) is a portable electronic device that automatically diagnoses and treats cardiac incidents and allows the heart to re-establish a natural rhythm.
Cardiovascular disease accounts for a third of all deaths in Wales, where the death rate is higher than in the majority of countries in Western Europe. In Wales there are approximately 8,000 sudden cardiac arrests outside hospital each year. When an AED is applied, the survival rate is considerably higher.
Welsh Hearts is a registered charity fundraising for the widespread provision of AEDs across Wales. Sharon said: “Unfortunately, there are not enough defibrillators in Wales or trained people to give victims the best chance of survival during those first few critical minutes. With more AEDs we can provide a vital link in the chain of survival so that even more lives can be saved.”
“When someone suffers a cardiac arrest, the chances of survival drop by up to 14% each minute, so a speedy response is crucial. Early defibrillation – within four to five minutes – gives the best possible chance of survival.”
Councillor Dovey added: “We are very pleased to receive the defibrillators which will be based in County Hall and Monmouth’s Shire Hall. Our next move will be to provide training to volunteers in these premises so we can use them to their greatest potential”.
To support the latest appeal by Welsh Hearts please telephone 02920 786521 or email [email protected]
