Located next to the school’s entrance, the device is also available for public use
A CARDIFF school has raised over £1,000 to install a potentially life-saving defibrillator at its entrance so the public can use it too.
Severn Primary in Canton collected the money via fundraising as the cost could not be covered in its tight school budget.
Deputy headteacher Andrew Jones said the defibrillator would give staff and others more confidence in dealing with emergency cardiac situations.
“It makes me feel more confident that if something happens then we are in a position to help,” he said.
“The delay in time with ambulances at the moment means you could be waiting hours. This delay is something that could be the difference between saving someone’s life or not.”
A defibrillator is used to analyse the heart rhythm of a casualty and give a shock to the heart to someone in cardiac arrest to help it beat again.
“There are other ones in the local area, unfortunately, some of them have been vandalised but now we have got our own.
“Our defibrillator has been registered with the circuit which means it can be used by ambulance crews as well,” said Mr Jones.
Andy Roberts, parent and chair of the governors, said: “Coming out of Covid, the things we have done to raise money has brought us all back together again. It’s a great public service.”
“£1,000 in the grand scheme of things is not a huge amount of money, but if that could save one person’s life then it’s totally worth it,” said Mr Jones.
At least 12 seemingly healthy young people die every week in the UK from heart conditions they didn’t know they had.
In Wales more than 60,000 people a year go into cardiac arrest while not in a hospital.
Defibrillators increase the chances of survival by up to 70% yet only 15% of the public feel comfortable using a defibrillator.
The school’s presentation of the life-saving device coincides with a St John Ambulance campaign.
#Defibruary is a month-long campaign throughout February, to encourage the public to know what a defibrillator is, where they are located and how to fundraise for one.
- The location of your nearest defibrillator can be found here.
