The final installations of the Friends of Frome Hospital community Public Access Defibrillator (PAD) initiative is now almost complete.
A special training session on the use of the PAD units has been made for the staff of the host organisations around Frome who agreed to house a unit on their premises.
A training team, including members of the SW Ambulance Responders Unit and AED Locators who supplied the state-of-the-art PAD defibrillator equipment, used the session to demonstrate the straightforward way to assist in the event of a cardiac trauma event on, or near their places of work. Almost 40 people attended the training session in the Cheese & Grain Hall.
The ‘Friends’ have installed 14 (of 15) defibrillators at strategic locations across the town, and a further four at rural locations in Standerwick, Chapmanslade, Corsley and Trudoxhill, an area covered by medical services provided by Frome’s Health Park. A final PAD unit is being installed in the Westway Shopping Centre in the third week of May.
Project leader for the Friends Community Defibrillator Programme, Derek Trick said, “The goodwill of the management of companies, organisations and on educational premises, to allow us to install PAD’s, has been exceptional, and we could not have achieved this complex project without their co-operation.
“A cardiac arrest can happen to anyone, of any age, anywhere. If anybody in Frome were unfortunate to have such an attack there is now a life-saving defibrillator within minutes of the situation. A 999 call to emergency services will direct you to the nearest unit.
“We understand that Frome is the first town in the country to establish a community-wide network of defibrillators that are immediately accessible 24/7, and the Friends are currently working with AED Locators to produce a publication highlighting the unique campaign here in Frome, and which could be relevant for similar communities in the UK. We ourselves are going to talk to an interested group in Crewkerne, in June, who would like to follow our example.”
Following the installation of the final Defibrillator at the Westway Precinct, the Friends of Frome Hospital team will be having a display about their work and outreach programmes outside the Ellenbray Toy Shop on Saturday 6th June, where they also hope to recruit a few extra members to help to extend their community programme. Contact: friendsoffromehospital@gmail.com
