Emma Roddick MSP is calling for tens of thousands of defibrillator owners to register their device on a new national database, called The Circuit, which could help save thousands of lives from cardiac arrests across the UK.
The Circuit campaign has been launched this week [week commencing: Mon 25th October] by the British Heart Foundation, in partnership with the Resuscitation Council UK and the Scottish Ambulance Service.
There are over 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests every year in the UK, but fewer than one in ten people survive and warnings indicate that the UK’s low survival rate is, in part, because public access defibrillators are used in less than one in ten out-of-hospital cardiac arrests.
Every minute that passes without CPR or defibrillation can reduce the chances of survival by up to ten per cent, but immediate CPR and defibrillation can more than double the chances of patient survival.
Roddick said:
“I join the voices urging defibrillator owners to register their devices on the Circuit network.
“When an emergency call is made to the Scottish Ambulance Service and requires a defibrillator, it will only flag up on a call handler’s screen if it has been registered. Only then can a call handler give direction to anyone available to collect it, provide the access code, and instructions on how to use it.
“Communities must come together and check that all defibrillators are registered. This is vital to saving lives everywhere, but particularly in my region which contains many rural areas.
“We must know where our defibrillators are in order to use them.
“If you or somebody you know is a defibrillator guardian, then please register your device on The Circuit today. It could save someone’s life.”
Emma Roddick MSP 