THE cardiac charity SADS UK has assisted Medstead Pre-School & Nursery in placing an automated external defibrillator on its premises.

Supporting the charity’s Big Shock campaign, the nursery was keen to place the potentially life-saving kit on its premises as staff “understand how important it is to provide early defibrillation when a person suffers a cardiac arrest”.

Staff were trained by the South Central Ambulance Service at the village school on September 13.

The defibrillator is equipment that works to restore the heart rhythm if a person goes into cardiac arrest and the earlier a defibrillator is used the better the chance of survival.

The defibrillator placed at the nursery is easy to use, complete with voice prompts for the user.

Anne Jolly, founder of SADS UK, said: “The charity is pleased that Medstead Pre-school & Nursery will benefit from having a defibrillator on the premises to restart the heart if there is a cardiac arrest on the premises.

“In 2014, SADS UK patron Dr Hilary Jones presented Lifesaver Awards to staff at two senior schools who had saved the lives of teenage boys using their school defibrillator.

Last year, two more teenage boys were saved by teachers at their school. This demonstrates how important it is to have this lifesaving equipment on school premises.

“Using CPR alone provides a five per cent chance of survival but early use of the defibrillator as well increases the chance of survival to over 50 per cent. This is why we are so passionate about putting this lifesaving equipment in place.”

The Big Shock Campaign to make defibrillators available in all schools has the support of the ambulance services and actress Dame Helen Mirren, who heads the charity’s defibrillator leaflet urging for defibrillators to be in place in all schools to save lives.

After meeting with policymakers, a charity spokesman said that the Department for Education was advising schools of the life-saving potential of having a defibrillator on the premises and it was assisting many schools in putting a defibrillator and the relevant training in place.

For more details about the charity, or to get a defibrillator placed in your community, call Anne Jolly on 01277 811215 or visit sadsuk.org.