Ambulance service launches campaign to mend broken hearts
Embargoed until 00:01 14 February 2019
This Valentine’s Day the North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) is offering to help communities mend broken hearts across the north east with funding for some new community defibrillators.
Getting a defibrillator to patients earlier could mean that more people survive a cardiac arrest.
In a bid to increase the number of defibrillators in the community, NEAS and the North East Ambulance Service Charitable Fund are offering £500 funding and support to community groups in 60 target areas* of the north east.
Community development officer Alex Mason said, “We know that only 8.7% of patients who had resuscitation attempted on them survived to be discharged from hospital. When a heart stops beating, oxygen is not being transported to the brain and other vital organs, and within four to five minutes, brain damage will start to occur without intervention.
“A victim’s chance of survival falls by around 7 to 10 percent with every minute that defibrillation is delayed. We regularly call upon the hundreds of community defibrillators already installed in the region to support our patients whilst an ambulance is travelling but even more in these target areas will help to cover the areas where people might not already have early access to the right equipment.
Remember, you could be the difference between someone surviving or not.”
Looking at the locations of current defibrillator sites, alongside information about the health and demographics of people across the region, NEAS has highlighted 60 key areas where a defibrillator could help to make a difference in the community.
A defibrillator is a significant investment for any community and the NEAS charity is inviting anyone in the key areas to apply for £500 funding towards the total cost of approximately £1,500 to purchase one.
Alex added, “Evidence suggests that over a quarter of adults living in the North East currently wouldn’t perform CPR or use defibrillator for fear that they might hurt the person or do it wrong. Our ambulance crews know only too well that their patient has had the best chances of survival when they arrive at a job where CPR is in progress and our call handlers will talk any bystander through what to do and support them all the way if they are unsure.”
To apply for funding online and view the map of all the current defibrillators throughout the region by following this link: https://www.neas.nhs.uk/our-services/community-defibrillators/funding-opportunities.aspx
The North East Ambulance Service Charitable Fund is set up to support staff, volunteers, patients and local communities. Chair of the North East Ambulance Service Charitable Fund Douglas Taylor said, “We want to encourage people throughout the region to apply for a community defibrillator if the location falls within one of the key target areas. The push for more defibrillators throughout the region is to support community groups to reach a defibrillator in time, if someone is in cardiac arrest to increase their chance of survival.”
If you want to donate to the Charitable Fund, please follow this link: https://mydonate.bt.com/charities/northeastambulanceservicetrustfund
More information about the NEAS Charitable Fund can also be found here: https://www.neas.nhs.uk/get-involved/making-a-donation.aspx
Notes to editors
Notes to editors
For more information, contact the NEAS press office on 07559 918672 or email publicrelations@neas.nhs.uk
Key areas that are being targeted:
Northumberland
DH8 9 - Blanchland, Edmundbyers, Allensford - Northumberland/North Durham/DDES
NE67 5 - Ellingham to Beadnell
NE44 6 - Riding Mill/Broomhaugh
NE26 4 - Whitley Bay GC/Seaton Sluice/Old Hartley - Northumberland/North Tyneside
NE24 1 - Blyth
Newcastle & Gateshead
NE1 3 - Newcastle Quayside
NE5 3 - Blakelaw/Cowgate
NE4 8 - Elswick/Scotswood
NE4 6 - Arthur's Hill
NE13 8 - Woolsington
NE1 4 - Leazes, China Town
NE6 2 - Byker/St Anthony's
NE4 7 - Elswick/Scotswood
NE6 3 - St Anthony's
NE6 1 - Byker
NE15 6 - Benwell/Scotswood
NE1 8 - Newcastle City hall/Northumbria Uni
NE1 5 - Newcastle Central station towards Newgate St
North Tyneside
NE30 1 - North Shields
NE29 6 - North Shields
NE13 6 - Wideopen, Seaton Burn, Horton Grange
South Tyneside
NE33 5 - Chicester/Tyne Dock, South Shields
NE33 2 - South Shields
Sunderland
SR1 2 - Sunderland, East End, Hendon
SR5 5 - Hylton, Sunderland
SR5 2 - Southwick, Sunderland
SR1 3 - Sunderland city centre
SR3 4 - Springwell, Thorney Close
SR5 4 - Town End Farm/Downhill, Sunderland
SR2 8 - Hendon
SR1 1 - Sunderland city centre
Durham, Darlington, Easington, Sedgefield
SR8 4 - Horden/Peterlee
SR8 5 - Peterlee
SR7 8 - Dalton-le-Dale, Hawthorn
SR8 3 - Easington, Easington Colliery
DL13 1 - Westgate, St John's Chapel, Ireshopeburn, Lanehead
DH6 3 - Wheatley Hill
TS27 4 - Castle Eden, Hesleden, Blackhall Colliery, Crimdon
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North Durham
DH9 6 - Stanley
Darlington
DL3 7 – Darlington
Hartlepool & Stockton
TS24 7 - Hartlepool
TS25 2 - Hartlepool
TS25 3 - Hartlepool
TS17 7 - Stockton
TS18 1 - Stockton
TS18 2 - Stockton
TS2 1 - Port Clarence/Seal Sands, Middlesbrough
TS25 4 - Rift House, Hartlepool
South Tees
TS1 1 - Middlesbrough town centre
TS1 3 - Middlesbrough
TS1 2 - Middlesbrough
TS4 2 - Middlesbrough
TS1 5 - Middlesbrough town centre
TS3 9 - Thorntree, Middlesbrough
TS6 6 - South Bank/Teesport, Middlesbrough
TS3 8 - Cargo Fleet/Berwick Hills, Middlesbrough
TS6 7 - Grangetown, Middlesbrough
TS3 7 - Berwick Hills, Middlesbrough
TS3 6 - North Ormesby, Middlesbrough
TS3 0 - Ormesby, Middlesbrough
If someone is unconscious and not breathing normally:
· Call 999, and ask for an ambulance.
· Start CPR – press down 5-6cm in the middle of the chest, at a rate of 100-120 compressions per minute (approx. 2 per second). If you are untrained, or unable to give mouth to mouth (rescue breaths), give continuous compressions. Otherwise, give 30 compressions then two rescue breaths, and continue doing this.
· If there is a defibrillator nearby (the ambulance call handler will tell you if there is one close), ask someone to fetch it, turn it on, and follow its instructions.
· Carry on with CPR, and the defibrillator will re-analyse the rhythm every two minutes. Keep going until:
o The person shows signs of recovery
o Help arrives and takes over
o You are too tired to continue
About North East Ambulance Service
North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (NEAS) covers 3,200 square miles across the North East region. It employs more than 2,600 staff and serves a population of 2.7 million people by handling all NHS111 and 999 calls for the region, operating patient transport and ambulance response services, delivering training for communities and commercial audiences and providing medical support cover at events.
In 2017/18 the service answered over 1.4 million emergency 999 and NHS 111 calls, responded to 280,00 incidents that resulted in a patient being taken to hospital, treated and discharged 27,000 patients with telephone advice and treated and discharged over 100,000 patients at home. In the same year, clinical crews responded to 126,746 of our highest priority patients within the national targets and scheduled care crews completed almost 580,000 patient transport journeys.