Schools eligible to receive life-saving equipment!

Northern Irish schools will soon benefit from a new initiative, announced the Education Minister this month. Schools all over Northern Ireland will be eligible to receive vital life-saving equipment, including defibrillators, on top of the current first aid system in place, as a result of the new scheme.

The plan will affect both Primary School and Secondary schools up and down the country, although the new scheme won’t be completely free for those involved. It’s speculated that contracts will be available to receive training at reduced costs to ensure the proper steps are taking when using the machines. Schools will also receive a hefty discount on the machines themselves. Any school which decides to opt-in to the additional level of first aid will be strongly supported by health professionals.

The proposed plan won’t just affect schools though; the aim of the scheme is to provide defibrillators in 43,000 public places at a cost of over 100 million Euros.

Launching the new guidelines, John O’Dowd said: “Thankfully, the incidence of cardiac arrest in under-18s is very low” and added “however we know that in such circumstances the most effective treatment is CPR combined with the use of a defibrillator. This significantly improves survival rates.”

The scheme is also spreading out to areas where the risk of cardiac arrest is highest, such as leisure facilities and training grounds. The devices will be available at such locations and other heavily populated areas.

It’s great to see another city which has a strong focus on the health of the public.

The Shard becomes the new home of a defibrillator

The Shard welcomed almost one million visitors through its door during the first year of the opening to the public, and popularity has continued to steadily grow for the tourist attraction. Not content with being a beloved feature in London, they also want to become one of the safest, so much so they have recently become the new home of a defibrillator - which is the highest device in the whole of Western Europe.

The operations director of The Shard, Sandy Clarke has urged for "every business in London to get a defibrillator installed. If we can install one at one of the highest points in Europe, then anyone can do it!"

The director added "we know that having this equipment and properly trained staff to use it could help us save a life in the future."

The newly installed device is part of the London Ambulance Service's Shockingly Easy campaign, which has been taking the city by storm. The primary aim of the scheme is to fit over 1000 defibrillators across London. The scheme will be focusing on public areas such as businesses, retail areas, sports facilities and high footfall areas.







The campaign also provides support to organisations, and will help businesses through the process of purchasing and installing a defibrillator, staff training and becoming accredited with the London Ambulance Service.


Seeing such an attraction like The Shard investing in a defibrillator is a big step, and hopefully we could soon see other major players follow their lead.