This May, 11 members of staff completed a defibrillator course ran by the North East Ambulance Service. Staff learned what to do in an emergency following “DR-ABC”:
Danger- is there any danger to the person or yourself;
Response- is the person responding, if not call an ambulance;
Airway- is their airway blocked;
Breathing- are they breathing;
CPR- begin chest compressions and have the AED (Automated External Defibrillator) ready to be deployed.
The course attendees were then taught how to use the AED which is fully automated, they were able to practice on training dummies and were shown where to locate the pads for adults and children. The AED checks for a heartbeat, if one is not found it will give instructions to stand clear while it sends a shock of electricity through the patient. It will then give instructions on continuing CPR until further shocks are required and professional help arrives.
Thompsons have purchased two AEDs- one for our head office and one for our SABIC site. We aim to register these with the Ambulance service meaning they will be available for public use as well as our own.