I am delighted to share that we now have our own defibrillator in school. It has been a long-term objective, now realised. A defibrillator is a device that gives a high energy electric shock to the heart of someone who is in cardiac arrest. This high energy shock is called defibrillation, and it's an essential part of trying to save the life of someone who is in cardiac arrest. Tragically, children die every week of sudden cardiac arrest, often due to previously undiagnosed heart conditions. Sue Killen, Chief Executive of St John Ambulance, said:
“Time and again, defibrillators have proven to be the difference between life and death. We are glad to have worked alongside the Department for Education in producing a new guide, and encourage school leaders both to install defibrillators and to equip their school communities with life-saving skills.”
General information about the benefits of having this equipment in schools is available via this link.
This potentially life-saving equipment is positioned in the foyer, next to the school office. It is not only available to be used in the event of an emergency in school, but also for emergencies in the community when school is open. Our machine will be registered with a national database shortly. All staff have just received updated and accredited training in first aid, which included the use of a defibrillator.
Our new defibrillator was not actually provided by the government but rather as result of the hard work of Mr Smith, working on our behalf, in partnership Westfield Health. I am extremely grateful to both Mr Smith for and Westfield Health for providing us with this expensive kit. The Managing Director is actually a former SJF pupil, and will be visiting our school, in due course, so that we can all thank him, formally.
