A new defibrillator installed in the offices of Spencer Group in Hull Marina will be available to the public, filling a gap in local coverage in an area popular with tourists and locals.
The automated external defibrillator (AED) has been installed at One Humber Quays by the Hull-based engineering company, with six staff trained to use it by St John Ambulance, to add coverage to the centre of Hull where there is currently only one other registered unit operational.
Following the AED’s installation, Spencer Group is encouraging other local businesses to purchase and register an AED and increase the number of public places that have a unit nearby in an effort to save lives. AEDs can lead to survival rates of up to 74% in situations where they are used on cardiac arrest patients quickly, but decrease by 10% every minute before use.
Currently central Hull only has one other registered AED accessible to the public, at Prospect Shopping Centre, around a 20-minute walk from the Humber Quays area. The installation of this AED halves this time, with the majority of the area being less than 5 minutes from the Spencer Group AED.
Charlie Spencer, founder and Executive Chairman of Spencer Group, said: “We’re delighted to be able to offer this life saving piece of kit to our staff and the public, but we need more of them registered in Hull to get people the help they need when time is so important.
“Hull Marina is a fast-growing area, with the nearby re-development of the Fruit Market, that’s getting more and more visitors every year, but until now there has been no emergency facility in place in case of heart problems. Nobody should lose their life for want of a defibrillator, so we’d encourage all businesses in Hull to install their own AED and make sure they’re registered”.
Joanne Partner, Operations Manager for St John Ambulance, said: “All credit to Spencer Group for making first aid a top priority. We’d like to see more organisations following their lead and installing a defibrillator on their premises.
“With the provision of a defibrillator, Spencer is not only ensuring the welfare of its own staff but, hopefully, their action will encourage other companies in the area to do the same.”
The new AED is located in the Reception of Spencer Group’s offices at One Humber Quays on Wellington Street, and is available for use by the general public.
An AED is a sophisticated, reliable, safe, computerised device that delivers electric shocks to a casualty in cardiac arrest when the ECG rhythm is one that is likely to respond to a shock. Simplicity of operation is a key feature: controls are kept to a minimum, ‘voice and visual prompts’ guide rescuers.
The 2010 Resuscitation Council (UK) guidelines still advise training for AED operators but state that in an emergency you do not have to be trained to use an AED; in short it is better to use it than not, even if a trained operator is not available.
