Heart defibrillators for ferries 4/4/12
Defibrillators are to be fitted on all Western Isles ferries. The British Heart Foundation (BHF) Scotland is sharing the coast with Cal Mac while the Scottish Ambulance Service will train ferry crews in their use and provide ongoing support.
CalMac’s Interim Managing Director Gary Robertson, said: “We have been wrestling with a number of issues around the deployment of AEDs on ferries for many years and are delighted to have found a partnership solution that enables us to provide this valuable public access defibrillator service.
“We are very grateful to BHF Scotland, which has helped us identify the type of AED device which is best suited for deployment on our ferries and to the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) for agreeing to train crew members to use AEDS initially and into the future. SAS also will act as clinical advisors.
“It will take a little time to install AEDs on all our vessels and train the crews as necessary, but we would hope to have them available initially on the large ferries as soon as possible and the smaller vessels after that. In addition to being available for crew members to use, they will be sited in public areas of the ships so can be used by members of the public too.”
He added: “We already link up with the ambulance service in emergency situations so this extension of that relationship makes real sense.”
Marjory Burns, Director of BHF Scotland, said: “Most cardiac arrests happen away from hospital and many of the resulting deaths could be avoided if the person is treated with a defibrillator within about four minutes of collapsing.
“If your heart stops, every second really does count, and having a defibrillator on hand – with personnel trained to use it – gives the best possible chance of survival.”