Monday 21 January 2013

Please Please Please

"Signature Needed NOW"

The purpose of this post is simple! I want you and everyone you know, to sign this e-petition as soon as possible. I want the link to it emailed and re-tweeted as much as possible. The e-petition was set up by the Oliver King foundation and was set up after his death at the age of 12. He died from Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome (SADS).

Their aim is to try and raise awareness about the medical condition SADS which commonly affects people aged between 12 and 35 years of age.

By doing this through their fundraising events and major PR drives, their aim is to boost the awareness about SADS enabling them to take the first steps towards preventative steps being made freely available.

They are currently based in Liverpool, UK and are striving to ensure that schools primarily get the equipment they need to help any young people who are affected by this condition. This is namely defibrillators. They need your help to get the government to listen, as until now the only response they have had has been to refuse to help and pass the buck to the ambulance service. 

"From February 2007, responsibility for continuing the legacy of the National Defibrillator Programme was devolved to ambulance trusts. Most of the ambulance trusts across the UK have community resuscitation departments or similar, which work to place defibrillators in the community, and in areas of need."

What they mean is they won't pay for it! What they also don't tell you, is that the ambulance service places defibrillators in places only where the owners pay for them. We do provide HeartStart training in basic life support and defibrillation free of charge to anyone that wants it but this training is provided by willing staff, unpaid, and in their own time. I myself am a trainer. It is something I believe passionately about and it was of such a surprise to me that defibrillators were not in schools by legal requirement. 

The cardiac arrest survival rate in London is around 32%. That figure is much higher than the rest of the country but it also much lower than other cities in the world. Seattle has the highest survival rate in the world at 55%. The reasons for the huge gulf is simple. Basic Life Support is taught as part of the national curriculum from the age of 6. Everyone knows how to use a defibrillator and there is one on every street, in every school and in every public building. That is the survival rate that is possible but that is what the government are unwilling to do. £650 for a defibrillator is more than a 12 year olds life is worth apparently. They even refused to meet The Oliver King Foundation, yet weeks later 16 defibrillators were installing in Westminster and government buildings! If it's good enough for them, it's good enough for you and your children!

Please please please have your say. We have the chance to make a real difference so lets put our weight behind it. 


For more information on the Oliver King foundation please visit  http://www.theoliverkingfoundation.co.uk/ or see them on twitter at @TheOKFoundation.



5 comments:

  1. This sounds an excellent thing to campaign for. However it would be good to have some stats. How many cardiac arrests are there in schools each year, and how many of those are due to potentially survivable and treatable conditions. Who would be responsible for maintaining and operating the defibrillator? How would it be kept readily accessible yet away from pupils wanting to play potentially dangerous jokes? And considering that many secondary schools have over 2000 students on large campuses, would a defibrillator on site necessarily be more quickly available than calling 999?
    When resources are so tight due to the merciless cuts imposed by the government I think it is really important to make your case as watertight as possible.

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    1. I don't have the stats but in all honesty I think they are irrelevant. The fact is early basic life support and early defibrillation is the only chance people have to survive and children do die. It isn't just SADS patients that would benefit, there are a plethora of medical conditions that can cause someone to die. All defibrillators purchased come with maintenance. All public defibrillators are safe. It is not possible to shock a live heart, a child could put pads on themselves and would not be able to shock someone who doesn't need it. As has been reported a lot recently there can be huge delays waiting for an ambulance so even one on a campus is better than none. If it can be done in other cities around the world there is no valid reason not to do it here.

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  2. Hi there, signed and shared.

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  3. Retweeting right now. X
    Then I'm signing.
    Julie

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  4. This comment has been removed by the author.

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