Plymouth opticians invest in lifesaving defibrillators

LIFESAVING defibrillators have been bought by Specsavers in Plymouth to provide rapid support to people in cardiac arrest.

Automatic external defibrillators can be the difference between life and death, and the staff learned about the machines’ importance when they attended a first-aid course.

The course inspired them to buy the defibrillators and install them in the stores at Armada Way and Plymstock, where they can be used if needed in an emergency by the public.

Staff at the stores have been trained to use the defibrillators if their help is ever needed. 

Helen Rixson, Ophthalmic Director at the stores, says: ‘After some colleagues and I attended a St Johns Ambulance First Aid Training course, we felt we wanted to support our community by purchasing two defibrillators for our stores.

‘Defibrillators are one of those things that, hopefully, we never have to use, but having them here gives us the ability to respond very quickly if we have to.  

‘We really want to raise awareness about the defibrillators, letting people know that we have equipment that genuinely could save lives.’

Defibrillators give a high-energy electric shock to the heart of someone in cardiac arrest. This is an essential part in trying to save the life of a person in cardiac arrest.

Helen adds: ‘When someone has a cardiac arrest, the minutes before an ambulance arrives can be crucial to the patient’s survival. If there is a defibrillator available, it should be used.’

According to the British Heart Foundation, less than 1 in 10 UK people survives an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. This is mainly due to there being not enough people prepared to perform CPR and there not being a defibrillator nearby.