Registering defibrillators could save lives

The Scottish Ambulance Service is appealing to communities in Orkney to register potentially life-saving public access defibrillators on its dedicated website.

The service launched its ‘Registration to Resuscitation’ campaign this week to help save more lives. They are holding a nationwide Day of Action on Friday.

Currently, anyone can acquire a defibrillator, and they are often based in community centres, sports facilities, and in other public places.

SAS are now appealing to local communities across Scotland to ensure that the service knows where these are, so when someone calls 999 they will know where the nearest defibrillator is, if it is required.

The use of a defibrillator within 3-5 minutes of cardiac arrest has been known to increase survival rates to as high as 75 percent.

Knowing the location of public access defibrillators would enable the Scottish Ambulance Service to direct bystanders to the nearest device in case of an emergency.

Orkney’s MSP Liam McArthur has backed the campaign, saying: “This campaign has the potential to make a dramatic difference for heart attack victims across Scotland. I strongly encourage everyone in Orkney who owns a public access defibrillator to register it with the Scottish Ambulance Service.”

Mr McArthur previously raised the issue of defibrillator availability at the turn of the new year, writing to Loganair urging the airline to carry defibrillators on their planes in line with industry practice.

Defibrillators can be registered online at http://pad.scottishambulance.com/