Is your workplace prepared for a SCA?

When considering your workplace supplies, investing in an AED might not be at the top of the list. Yet with over 30,000 sudden cardiac arrests (SCAs) occurring away from hospital in the UK every year, it’s never been more important to be prepared.

An automated external defibrillator (AED) is a vital piece of life-saving equipment. It’s a small, lightweight machine that identifies an irregular heart rhythm and delivers an electrical shock to the heart to try and restore a natural one. Once only used by healthcare professionals, advancements in technology and their easy to follow instructions, means AEDs can be used by anyone with minimal first aid training.

With the average emergency service response time to a cardiac incident now standing at eleven minutes, it’s important that your workplace knows how to act quickly when a medical emergency such as a cardiac arrest occurs.

If a defibrillator is used and effective CPR is performed within 3-5 minutes of cardiac arrest, the chance of survival increases from 6% to 74%.

Without immediate treatment, 90-95% of Sudden Cardiac Arrest victims will die.

For every minute that goes by where a victim of SCA does not receive treatment, their chance of survival decreases by 10%.

To hear the story of Ian Hough, a SCA survivor, and how having an AED nearby saved his life, watch this video from West Midlands Ambulance Service.

Whilst defibrillators have been proven to be instrumental in saving millions of lives, only 49% of businesses currently have one on their premises. Installing an AED in your workplace can also raise your company profile locally, should you choose to give access to the AED for the local community; demonstrating that your business takes people’s safety seriously.

Contact your Account Manager today for further information, quotes, and to explore the life-saving potential of having a defibrillator in your workplace.