Graham Stuart MP welcomes more defibs being rolled out to save lives

Graham Stuart MP, Chair of CADEY, met with CADEY committee members Nick Middleton (HEY Smile Foundation), Nicola Waudby (Humber Aid), and Warren Bostock and Jo Watson (Yorkshire Ambulance Service) to congratulate them on their hard work and inroads into covering all communities in Beverley and Holderness with publicly accessible defibrillators.

When CADEY was founded in March 2018, its stated aim was to boost defibrillator coverage across Beverley and Holderness. Thanks to the charitable contributions of Esh Civils, Humber Aid, Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS), Help for Health and NURSE, YAS’s list of target communities is currently down to 21, compared to the original 63 target areas. Ross Markwell of Esh Civils also attended the meeting, having funded 10 defibrillators in the East Riding, of which 7 are in Beverley & Holderness.

Ross Markwell, Esh Civils, commented “Thank you for allowing us to be part of such a fantastic initiative. We look forward to supporting further defibrillators as we continue to work across the region.

“Esh provide the money, but it’s people like Nick Middleton of Smile who do the hard work of identifying sites and procuring the defibs. I am also grateful to Humber Aid for the match-funding that makes our contributions to local communities possible.”

This year, YAS has taught nearly 200 people through online familiarisation sessions to have the confidence to use a defib. Jo Watson from YAS will be running 3 more at 10am Saturday 5th June, 1pm Thursday 10th June, 7pm Thursday 10th June. To sign up to one of these free online sessions, go to Eventbrite and search “Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS) Community Public Access Defibrillator (CPAD) Familiarisation session” to book a slot. For further information or support, contact joanne.watson1@nhs.net.

Moving forward, CADEY is looking to aid the ongoing development of the BHF’s The Circuit app by encouraging all privately and publicly owned defibrillators to be registered on its database. The Circuit, otherwise known as the National Defibrillator Network, is an online register which is looking to go live at the end of June.

Although NHS Ambulance Services already have defibrillator databases for many regions, The Circuit will connect them together to provide a single national view. YAS will be asking everyone to migrate onto The Circuit.

The Circuit will automate the process of reporting usage. It will prompt guardians to ensure the defib is back in its cabinet and will update the ambulance trust when this has been done.

It also makes registration of new defibs quicker, reminds guardians to maintain their defibrillators and allows ambulance trusts to see the nearest cross-border defibrillators.

Graham said, “With the new online resources, never has it been easier to access and use these life-saving devices. I am confident, with the help of the BHF’s The Circuit app, we will help save precious minutes, if not seconds, in providing treatment to those suffering from a cardiac arrest.   

“I encourage as many people as possible to take part in the upcoming familiarisation sessions, hosted by the Yorkshire Ambulance service. These short informal online classes will provide the confidence to use a defib.

“There was a story recently of a woman in Hedon who collapsed in the street. She was saved by a passing driver who administered CPR until the nearest defib was collected. This is what we’re talking about; a potentially tragic real-life event, which could happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere, which highlights how important it is to have the confidence to administer CPR and a defib. It can be the difference between life and death.”

CADEY committee (Photo taken prior to social distancing guidelines); 

ESH Civils - Ross Markwell, Graham Stuart MP, Stephen Wilkie.