Graham Stuart, MP for Beverley and Holderness, and founder of CADEY, is urging defibrillator owners to register their devices on a new national database, called The Circuit, which could help save thousands of lives from cardiac arrests in the coming years.
There are more than 30,000 out of hospital cardiac arrests every year in the UK, but fewer than one in ten people survive. Every minute which passes without CPR or defibrillation reduces the chances of survival by up to 10 per cent.
Graham said “I am warning that the UK’s low survival rate is likely to be in part because public access defibrillators are used in fewer than one in ten out of hospital cardiac arrests. This is often because 999 call handlers aren’t always aware that a defibrillator is available nearby because the ambulance service hasn’t been told about it. That’s why it’s imperative that every single defibrillator is on The Circuit. It is estimated that tens of thousands of defibs around the country are yet to be put on The Circuit, so if you’re in charge of one, please get online and register it.”
The MP founded CADEY to help save lives in his constituency by making sure all his rural communities have a public access defibrillator close to hand.
Graham continued “CADEY works with fantastic partners like the Smile Foundation, Help for Health, Esh Civils, YAS, Humber Fire and Rescue, Humber Aid and Px, the owners of Saltend Chemicals Park, all of whom wish to help rural communities realise their aim of a life-saving defibrillator. I urge everyone in villages and hamlets to find out where their nearest defib is and to let me know if they don’t have one.
“CADEY was delighted to visit Simon Caley’s farm recently to thank him for hosting the publicly accessible defibrillator installed to save lives in the West Newton area with funds provided by Rathlin Energy.”