1 June 2011
Visitors to St Paul’s Cathedral can now be assured of the
highest level of life-saving care in London following the
installation of a defibrillator in the Golden Gallery at the top of
the dome.
At 300 feet above the ground, the defibrillator will be the highest of the 600
public-access ‘shockboxes’ sited around the capital in train
stations, airports, tourist attractions and workplaces.
Staff at the cathedral are this week being
trained by the London Ambulance Service to use the defibrillator to
restart a patient’s heart, should they suffer a cardiac
arrest.
The Service receives over 125,000 calls each
year to people complaining of chest pain, one of the main signs of
a heart
attack.
Community Resuscitation Officer Claire Adams
explains: “With a cardiac arrest every second counts in the
delivery of first aid. When a person’s heart stops there is limited
time in which to deliver a shock, and after that time has passed
there is little chance of survival. The staff at St Paul’s
Cathedral’s work to learn how to use a defibrillator is extremely
important and we are delighted with the commitment they have
shown.”
Clerk of the Works Martin Fletcher from St
Paul’s Cathedral said: “We are really pleased to have this
life-saving equipment on-site. Every year we have 1.9m visitors and
worshippers and there is of course a risk that one or more of these
may suffer a heart attack or cardiac arrest. The defibrillators,
and the London Ambulance Service’s training, have given our staff
the confidence to carry out first aid in even the most extreme of
situations and we are very grateful.”
The two defibrillators were provided by the
British Heart Foundation.
- Ends -
Notes to editors:
- For further information about the London Ambulance Service or
this news release please contact the communications department on
020 7783 2286.
- Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ldn_ambulance