Public Access Defibrillators:
Whilst our primary role is responding to 999 medical emergencies of behalf of the Welsh Ambulance Service the Porthcawl Community First Responders are committed to developing and supporting a network of Public Access Defibrillators (PAD's) around the Porthcawl area and well as raising awareness and providing community practical sessions around the use of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and an Automated Extrenal Defibrillator (AED).
Figures from the British Heart Foundation (BHF) show that there are over 30,000 ‘Sudden Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrests’ (SOHCA) in the U.K. each year with approximately 70% to 80% of all SOHCA happening in the home.
Currently across the U.K. less that 1-in-10 people survive a SOHCA.
Research from the Resuscitation Council (UK) show that early CPR and the early use of an AED can increase a person's chance of survival to 50% to 70%, particularly f the AED is deployed within the first 3 to 5 minutes of a cardiac arrest.
So, what is an AED and how does it work. AED are small portable medical devices that checks a person's heart rhythm and can deliver an electric shock to restart normal heartbeat during a Cardiac Arrest.
When they are switched on the device will give verbal instructions on its use, including how and where to place the electrodes on the patient. It analyses the heart looking for its electrical rhythm and depending on what the results are from that it will determine whether shock is required or not.
The AED only delivers a shock if it detects a dangerous, life-threatening rhythm like ventricular fibrillation. It will not shock a normal heart or a heart with no electrical activity.
Due to the generosity and support of the Porthcawl people, groups and businesses we have to date managed to deliver eighteen 24/7 PAD installations around the various Porthcawl communities. These PAD are placed at key public buildings and locations around the local community to be used by members of the public in cases of Sudden Cardiac Arrest. The following map shows the PAD network that the Porthcawl CFR/CWR Team support.
THE EXACT LOCATION OF THE 24/7 PUBLIC ACCESS DEFIBRILLATORS SHOWN IN THE ABOVE MAP (AS WELL AS ANY 4 DIGIT SECURITY ACCESS CODE) IS OBTAINABLE FROM THE WELSH AMBULANCE SERVICE BY RINGING 999
All the 18 PAD that we support and maintain are recorded on “The Circuit” website. This is a database of over 120,000 PAD registered across the U.K. that is run and maintained by the British Heart Foundation and is accessible to every U.K NHS Ambulance Services.
For details of the PAD within your local community click here and enter your Town or PostCode.
In support of the PAD network with Porthcawl the Porthcawl Community First Responder Team to provide free PAD and Basic Life Support (BLS) awareness and practice sessions to residents of Porthcawl and its surrounding area. Examples of the sessions we have held include:-
= Portway Surgery
= 4th Porthcawl Brownie Group
= Porthcawl Rugby Football Club
= Porthcawl Athletic Club
= St Davids Church Hall, Nottage
= Old School Room, Newton Green
= Porthcawl Fire & Rescue Station
= Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Church
= Cornelly Surgery
= Griffin Park Bowls Pavilion
= Prince of Wales Bowls Club
= Porthcawl Inner Wheel
= Porthcawl Churches Together
= Porthcawl Piriates Club
