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.