A brand-new defibrillator that can be accessed by the public has been installed at the Round About café in Mansbridge at Westfield Corner, Southampton. It is positioned at the front of the café, to the right of the door and can be accessed 24/7.
Abri, a large housing provider with 50,000 homes and assets, 700 of which are in Mansbridge, applied for a grant from the Department of Health and Social Care to fund the defibrillator after its customers expressed a desire for more devices in their community. It was then installed by Abri’s trade teams.
Jim Lillywhite-Buley, one of Abri’s Community Wellbeing Co-ordinators, organised the installation saying: “Customers from our two independent living schemes in Mansbridge felt strongly that there should be greater access to defibrillators in their local area. Before the installation, the nearest device was in Wessex Lane, so we felt the café could be the perfect place for a brand-new defibrillator, especially as so many of our scheme residents already love to meet and chat here.”
The defibrillator can be used by anyone and does not require special training to operate. If an emergency is taking place, a person should simply call the emergency services to get access to the defibrillator, and instructions for operation can be delivered either over the phone or by the defibrillator itself. The device at Round About café is equipped with technology to walk a user through what needs to be done step by step.
According to the British Heart Foundation, over 30,000 people have an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in the UK every year and fewer than 1 in 10 people survive such an event. ‘Early defibrillation’ is one of the 4 essential actions that can give a person who has suffered cardiac arrest the best chance of survival. An increase in the number of defibrillators available nationwide is seen as vital, and is expected to save lives.
The defibrillator will soon be registered and added to the national defibrillator network called The Circuit.
Cita Jagot, Abri’s Communities & Involvement Manager said: “At Abri we’re passionate about supporting our communities and we’re pleased that we’ve been able to respond directly to feedback from people in Mansbridge. These incredible devices are so important and it’s great we can bring a vital resource to the community. For many, the Round About Café is the heart of the community, so it seems fitting for this life-saving piece of equipment to be installed here.”
The cafe, which is staffed mainly by volunteers, is open during the week for refreshments from 8am – 2pm, with events and activities often run in the evenings and weekends too. A community pantry is also run from the cafe, where local people can purchase food and household essentials for a fraction of supermarket prices. To find out more visit roundaboutcafe.org or visit the Facebook page here.
