Blackpool finance firm installs defibrillator at business park

A life-saving defibrillator has been installed at financial services company Questa Chartered on the Whitehills Business Park near the town.

More than five Questa staff have now completed comprehensive training from the Workplace Safety Group on how to use the defibrillator, which gives a high energy electric shock to the heart of someone who is in cardiac arrest to get their heart going once more.

For Questa, Anthony Hoskisson said: “We wanted a defibrillator to give our clients and staff complete peace of mind. We all hope it will never be used, of course. But if the need arises we will be ready to respond. And it might just save someone’s life.

“Basic emergency skills can be the difference between life and death in some cases. And now we are trained to use the right equipment, the chances of survival after a cardiac arrest improves.

“More than that, we want the whole business park to know that we have a defibrillator that they can access should the need arise. The more businesses who are prepared to make the investment and make staff aware - the better it is for the whole community.”

The defibrillator is located in the Questa office reception area and accessible by following written instructions on the cabinet.

The defibrillator is registered with The Circuit - The National Defibrillator Network supported by the British Heart Foundation, St John Ambulance, Resuscitation Council Uk and the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives.

Every minute without CPR and defibrillation reduces a victim’s survival rate by 7 to 10 per cent. Without immediate treatment, 90-95 percent of cardiac arrests prove fatal. If a defibrillator is used within 3-5 minutes of cardiac arrest, survival rates jump from 6 percent to 74 percent.

Each year in Britain around 30,000 people are struck by sudden cardiac arrest outside of hospital environments. They can affect anyone at any time – from young children at school, to adults when they’re at home, work or out in public places.

If victims aren’t treated properly, more often than not, cardiac arrests are fatal. The British Heart Foundation’s figures show that only one in ten victims survive.

Famously, footballer Fabrice Muamba was saved by swift use of a defibrillator after he’d suffered a cardiac arrest during a game in 2012.

More recently Danish international footballer Christian Eriksen was also saved with the help of a defibrillator. He can now continue his playing career thanks to an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD), which can reset the heart after a cardiac arrest.