Pharmacy and medical centre help provide new defibrillator

A PHARMACY and medical centre have combined to provide a 24-hour Automated External Defibrillator (AED) to their local community, reports Hayden Moore.

Inspired by the lack of an open-access defibrillator in the area, Springfield Pharmacy and Springfield Medical Centre decided to go all in to provide this life-saving device for the community.

“The people in the neighbourhood have been very good to the pharmacy over the years,” owner of Springfield Pharmacy, Feyi Adeyemi, tells The Echo.

“I think there isn’t an open access defibrillator in the neighbourhood – as far as I’m aware there is one in the village, the GAA Club and the Credit Union.

“The thing is once they close, it prevents access to the defib and as we know, these things happen at the most random of times.

“It could be something as simple as somebody coming out of Centra and bang, they’re gone down.

“So I spoke to Springfield Medical Centre and we decided that we would go in on a defib together.”

According to AED Ireland, in having a defibrillator on site within two minutes, there can be an 80 per cent chance of survival in a cardiological incident.

Also, with every minute that passes, survival rates of cardiac arrest is reduced by 10 per cent – this has prompted the two medicare businesses to make one available.

Located on the outer wall of Springfield Medical Centre, the defibrillator can be accessed through a code which is readily available in Springfield Pharmacy, Medical Centre or emergency services.

In the case of an emergency, people are asked to ring emergency services, access the AED and follow the voice-activated instructions and give chest impressions when tending to a person in a cardiological incident.

Adam McSherry, from OutPower Electrical, fixed the AED and wired it to the Medical Centre free of charge this week and it is now ready for use.

“There is a lot of footfall in that area, so we came at this with an open-mind and open heart. The community response has been absolutely phenomenal,” Feyi continued.

“We have had some people looking to set up a Local Emergency Response team since.

“So if somebody goes down, while you’re waiting on an ambulance, these emergency responders who have the experience and correct training can attend to them.

“That’s another great thing to come of this.”