Restart a Heart events across Kent spark awareness about cardiac arrest

Fire stations across Kent are offering free hands-on information sessions about CPR delivery and public access defibrillators (PADs) this week.

Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) are hosting these training sessions in support of the global Restart a Heart campaign.

Restart a Heart day takes place this Sunday (October, 16) and aims to raise awareness of cardiac arrest.

According to the British Heart Foundation, approximately 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests happen every year in the UK. Less than one in ten people survive them.

Adrian Hawkins, Station Leader at Kent Fire and Rescue Service, said: “A large number of people who experience a cardiac arrest outside of the hospital die, but CPR can help improve those odds, especially if it is performed in the first few minutes of cardiac arrest – it can double or even sometimes triple a person’s chance of survival.”

Today, KFRS are providing this training at Dover Fire Station, a town in which a charity is going one step further to reduce fatalities from cardiac arrest.

Defibs for Dover are preparing to get their second defibrillator up and running in the next coming weeks.

A phone box at Elms Vale park will soon become home to a vital piece of lifesaving equipment, which has been funded by public donations.

Clare Sykes is a member of the South East Coast Ambulance Service and has worked with Defibs for Dover to organise their latest defibrillator.

Clare is “all for them to be in the public domain” and believes this defibrillator is “long overdue at Elms Vale [since] the nearest 24/7 defib is located at the fire station which is too far away”.

She said: “I think [the defibrillator] will have a very positive impact and give peace of mind.  The response on Facebook of words of encouragement are good.

“We are going to continuously fundraise to get as many [defibrillators] as we can.”

A number of crews at KFRS have carried out CPR and used PADs on members of the public in times of need, including the crew at Canterbury recently.

But Adrian emphasised that you don’t need to be a medical professional to carry out CPR.

“If everyone was trained in CPR or knew what to do if someone suffered a cardiac arrest, many more people have the opportunity to be saved,” the station leader said.

More information about Restart a Heart Day can be found at https://www.bhf.org.uk and https://www.kent.fire-uk.org.