The British Heart Foundation (BHF) has joined forces with Microsoft and the NHS to collate details of the UK's defibrillators
A charity has teamed up with a tech giant as it bids to save thousands of more lives from cardiac arrest.
The British Heart Foundation (BHF) has joined forces with Microsoft and the NHS to map all of the UK’s defibrillators.
The initiative is in response to figures that show public access defibrillators are used in less than 3% of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, significantly reducing the survival chances of tens of thousands of people every year.
One of the biggest barriers to their use is that the location of these devices is often unknown to bystanders and ambulance services, despite tens of thousands of defibrillators being placed prominently in workplaces, train stations, leisure centres and public places across the country.
The BHF says this is leading to a needless loss of lives, as 999 call handlers are unable to direct bystanders to their nearest defibrillator when someone suffers a cardiac arrest.
The Scottish Ambulance Service deals with over 3,500 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests every year in Scotland, but only around one in 12 people survive. In countries where the public are better equipped to recognise and deal with cardiac arrests, survival rates are up to three times higher.
Combining their expertise in technology and healthcare, the parties will now work together over the next 12 months to develop a comprehensive network of defibrillators across the UK that can be used by ambulance services. The pioneering project is expected to help save lives every day right across the country.
James Cant, director of BHF Scotland, said: “Every minute without CPR or defibrillation reduces a person’s chance of surviving a cardiac arrest by around 10 per cent. Thousands more lives could be saved if the public were equipped with vital CPR skills, and had access to a defibrillator in the majority of cases.
“Over the last five years we’ve made great progress in introducing CPR training in more schools. We now need to improve access to the tens of thousands of public defibrillators across the UK.
“These life-saving devices can provide a vital lifeline for cardiac arrest victims until ambulance services arrive. This innovative project will give every ambulance service immediate access to the location of defibrillators in their areas, so they can direct bystanders to their nearest life-saving device in the event of a cardiac arrest.”
Clare Barclay, chief operating officer at Microsoft UK, said: “There is huge potential to transform healthcare provision by combining the power of technology with the expertise of the dedicated staff within the NHS and other leading health organisations.”
Pauline Howie, chief executive of Scottish Ambulance Service, said: “The role of the public in a cardiac arrest scenario should not be underestimated. Ambulance services aim to get to cardiac arrests, the ultimate medical emergency, as quickly as possible. But every minute counts, meaning CPR and public access defibrillators provide a lifeline for victims.”
When the network is launched, defibrillator owners, or guardians, will be invited to register their defibrillator online. The system will encompass detailed locations of defibrillators across the UK, which will allow ambulance services to direct bystanders of a cardiac arrest to the nearest one. It will also act as a network so that defibrillator guardians can support each other in the maintenance of these lifesaving devices.
The network will be piloted by the Scottish Ambulance Service and West Midlands Ambulance Service, before being rolled out across the UK.
