How defibrillators are activated short

Peterborough Telegraph

08/05/2024

Credit: Community Heartbeat Trust charity

Transcript

00:00In this video, we will cover community defibrillation, and also look specifically at the way ambulance

00:06services activate a defibrillator to an emergency.

00:10Not every emergency requires a defibrillator, and understanding how and why defibrillators

00:15are activated can help misunderstandings and concerns.

00:21So how are defibrillators activated in an emergency?

00:25If a patient is unconscious, not breathing or not breathing normally and has changed

00:29colour, this is a life-threatening emergency.

00:33Call 999 Ambulance.

00:35The ambulance operator will ask you if the patient is, A, breathing, and, B, conscious

00:41or not.

00:43If the answer to these are negative, then this is classed as a Category 1 call, life-threatening.

00:49At this point the details of the nearest active and available defibrillator will appear on

00:53the ambulance service controller's screen.

00:56If not, and the patient is awake and breathing, then this is a Category 2, or above, call,

01:03and not life-threatening.

01:05The details of the nearest defibrillator will not appear on the call handler's screen.

01:10They cannot tell you the location of the nearest defibrillator or how to get access.

01:15If a Category 2 incident, some ambulance service use a script called AMPDS.

01:22This has issues in that it was designed for cities and office blocks, and asks a caller

01:26to go and collect a defibrillator if they know of one nearby.

01:30It does not work very well in rural locations.

01:34Not all ambulance services use this, and they are moving universally to a system called

01:39NHS Pathways, a UK-derived system and much better at directing people.

01:45As any 999 call can be taken by any ambulance service, standardization is very important.

01:53All ambulance services can activate a defibrillator, but note, not a catastrophic bleed kit, and

01:59if a Category 1 incident, they can direct you to the defibrillator.

02:04If a Category 2 incident, they cannot, and so you will not be given any instructions,

02:09or any access code if required.

02:12Do not just go to a defibrillator location you are aware of and call 999 again.

02:18This generates a second call, which may go to a different ambulance service, who are

02:22unaware of the first call, and they cannot give you the defibrillator information.

02:28Please also note.

02:30If a 999 call handler is unable to find a defibrillator that you are aware of, this

02:35does not mean it is not registered with them.

02:38It may be the incident does not require a defibrillator and so it just does not show

02:43up on their screen.

02:45Or.

02:46The defibrillator may have already been activated to another call, and so has been made invisible

02:51to a call handler for any subsequent emergency call, until it has been checked and made active

02:57again.

02:58Or.

02:59The defibrillator you are aware of may be out of service for some reason, and so cannot

03:04be activated by the handler.

03:07Don't assume that defibrillator is not known to the ambulance service.

03:11Almost all are registered already, and any new publicly accessible sites are now almost

03:16always registered on installation.

03:20Reporting that a site is not registered takes time and money to investigate, and almost

03:24always it shows the defibrillator is registered, and is just not visible or available for a

03:29good reason.

03:31Please think, before acting.

03:34Understanding how defibrillators are activated is really important.

03:39These are life-saving devices, and should only be used when required.

03:44Understanding how the ambulance services work as well will help communities use these equipment

03:49correctly and appropriately, and avoid confusion in the future.

03:53Many thanks for listening.

04:01To contact the Community Heartbeat Trust Charity, please call 033-01243-067 or go via our website.

How defibrillators are activated short

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