North West Ambulance Service gives the council the gift of life

North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) donated two defibrillators to Number One Riverside

The Council’s new offices are now better equipped to handle emergencies after the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) donated two defibrillators to Number One Riverside.

The defibrillators, given to the council after discussion with Link4Life, were presented to the Council’s Chief Executive, Jim Taylor, and the Leader of the Council, Cllr Colin Lambert, by NWAS Community Resuscitation Development Officer Steve Nicholls.

To show how easy the defibrillators are to use, Steve did a demonstration for Number 1 Riverside’s qualified First Aiders, assisted by Cllr Lambert.

Before the demonstration, Cllr Lambert gave a short speech, saying: “In the event anyone ever suffers a heart attack while inside this building, defibrillators are a fantastic bit of kit to assist those administering CPR, and for that reason, it is vital that we ensure these are available to all first aiders in all our public buildings and schools in the borough.

“Unfortunately, defibrillators are expensive though at £800-£1000 each, and so, I call upon the borough’s local businesses to help us achieve this by sponsoring a defibrillator for each of our borough’s 83 schools.”

John Matson, Link4Life’s Operations and Training Manager, reiterated Cllr Lambert’s call saying: “Link4Life introduced defibrillators in all its pools and leisure centres in 2011, and how to use them is part of our regular staff training programme.

“We plan for if the worst should happen and, unfortunately, very occasionally it does. We had an incident at Rochdale Leisure Centre last year when a life was saved because of the swift action of our staff and we are keen to raise awareness of the importance of having defibrillators available in all public buildings.”

Speaking after the demonstration, Steve Nicholls said; “I understand people can be hesitant to administer CPR, fearing they’ll make the situation worse. However, if a person suffers a cardiac arrest or stops breathing, administering CPR and using a defibrillator can only help in restoring the heartbeat’s natural rhythm in the vital minutes until a paramedic arrives on the scene. They are light, easy to use, and really will help to give someone the best possible chance of survival.”