A NEW lifesaving device has been installed outside a children’s play area in part of Llanelli described by a campaigning Labour town councillor as ‘a defibrillator desert’.
Llanelli Town Council has put the modern defibrillator outside the Nightingale Court children’s play area in Bigyn ward.
It is a state-of-the-art device and has been registered on the Circuit – a map and database informing ambulance personnel of the nearest defibrillators available for use in the event of someone suffering a sudden cardiac arrest.
Threspeed of response to such an emergency is vital if the sufferer is to be saved, said town councillor Shaun Greaney.
National survival rates to hospital discharge for out-of-hospital cardiac arrests are currently under 10 per cent.
Experts say immediate bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation, which can double or quadruple a person’s chances of survival, and early defibrillation with an automated external defibrillator (AED), of the type installed by the town council, can lead to survival rates of up to 50-70 per cent if performed within 3-5 minutes.
Councillor Greaney said: “This Labour-led town council is spearheading a lifesaving safety drive.
‘Naturally, we want to see more people surviving out-of-hospital cardiac arrests.
‘The facts show that early defibrillation, combined with cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), dramatically increases the chances of people pulling through.
‘For every minute without treatment, the chance of survival decreases by about 10 per cent.
‘So tackling the Nightingale Court defibrillator ‘desert’ was a priority for us.’
Councillor Greaney, who represents Lliedi ward, said he was aware of a number of deaths due to cardiac arrests, and critical bleeds, that could, potentially, have been averted if lifesaving treatment had been available immediately.’
Council leader, councillor David Darkin, urged people to take up the council’s offer of free training when it becomes available next year.
‘We will be providing training for the community in lifesaving measures, – and the use of Critical Bleed Control Kits., which are army grade and invaluable in the event of a catastrophic bleed,’ he said.
Councillor Darkin added: ‘Councillor Greaney has led on this project and it is to his credit that he introduced the council to the Critical Bleed Control kits initiative.
”Allied to our trailblazing Sports, Youth and Activities programme, this shows a commitment to improving health and wellbeing outcomes of Llanelli townsfolk of all ages.’
Town councillor Gareth Lloyd, of Bigyn ward, said: ‘I, and local residents, very much welcome the provision of a defibrillator at Nightingale Court children’s play area.
‘The council will be arranging free public training in the use of Critical Bleed Control kits and defibrillators in our community centres across Llanelli in the next few months.’
