Defibrillator installed in Kingston

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Defibrillator installed in Kingston

Representatives from Kingstonfirst, Marks & Spencer and the London Ambulance Service celebrated the installation outside of Marks & Spencer homeware on Clarence Street.

A life saving defibrillator has been installed in Kingston, and is now available for 24 hour use

The device is the first defibrillator to be accessible 24 hours a day in the town centre. It can provide life-saving heart shocks following a cardiac arrest, greatly improving a casualty’s chance of surviving until medical professionals arrive.

“If you have a cardiac arrest, your heart stops beating and you are clinically dead. Every second counts which is why we want more public-access defibrillators to help us save more lives in London,” said The London Ambulance Service’s Chairman, Richard Hunt CBE.

“Around 28% per cent of people survive a cardiac arrest in a public place, but where there is a defibrillator and someone trained to use it, the chance of survival can increase to 80%.”

Last week, representatives from Kingstonfirst, Marks & Spencer and the London Ambulance Service celebrated the installation outside of Marks & Spencer homeware on Clarence Street.

“This is an extremely important step for Kingston” said Ros Morgan, Chief Executive of Kingstonfirst.

“We already have public-access defibrillators in the town centre but this is the first that will be available for public use 24/7. Defibrillators save lives, and making them easily accessible is vital.

“Our long term aim is to ensure that these life saving devices are available at busy locations across the town centre 24 hours a day. We are already in talks with the Railway Station and the Rotunda.”

Other public defibrillators in Kingston can also be found inside the Marks & Spencer store, The Rose Theatre, Q Car Park (Eden Walk), Bentall Centre and The Guildhall, though these sites are not accessible 24 hours a day.

The London Ambulance Service has recently launched its Shockingly Easy campaign to get at least 1,000 extra defibrillators in shops, business, gyms and high footfall areas across London. Organisations can receive information on how to get a defibrillator and training on how to use it by calling the Shockingly Easy campaign on 020 7783 2366 or by visiting londonambulance.nhs.uk/shockinglyeasy