Lakes and Dales Co-operative has made Cumbria a safer place by becoming CardiacSmart with the North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust (NWAS). The aim of the CardiacSmart award is to recognise local businesses for their dedication to raising awareness of heart health, basic life support and defibrillators.
Lakes and Dales Co-operative gained its Silver CardiacSmart award after installing a community public access defibrillator at its Lazonby store and providing store staff with emergency life support training with the NWAS. The retailer also recently donated two defibrillators to Penrith Mountain Rescue, equipping the charity with a machine in all of its rescue vehicles.
Katie Kipling, Membership and Community Officer for Lakes and Dales Co-operative said: “Lakes and Dales Co-operative is honoured to achieve the silver CardiacSmart award from the North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust. We are really pleased to have the defibrillator in our Lazonby store and we believe that providing our staff with emergency life support training is a positive and simple action to take. It is also fantastic that we were able to donate two defibrillators to Penrith Mountain Rescue, who provide a vital service for our local community.”
The CardiacSmart initiative, born from the Chain of Survival Partnership, works to extend the blanket coverage of public access Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) and provide more individuals with training in basic life support; in order to improve a cardiac arrest victim’s chance of survival.
Around 30,000 people suffer a cardiac arrest outside of hospital each year, and every minute a person does not receive treatment their chance of survival decreases by 10%. Cardiac arrest is the most extreme case of an emergency, as the patient loses consciousness at once and there are no signs of life. Defibrillators give an electric shock through the chest wall and help to restore a normal heartbeat.
No one knows who will suffer from cardiac arrest, but what is known is that the speed of response, Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and defibrillation within the first few minutes will improve the patient’s chance of survival and recovery.
Photo above: Katie Kipling, Membership and Community Officer for Lakes and Dales Co-operative and Jane McDonnell, Store Manager of Lazonby Lakes and Dales Co-operative, accept the CardiacSmart award from Bob Williams, Chief Executive of the North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust (NWAS).