Forkers – Severn Trent’s contractors – have donated a defibrillator to the Crich Tramway Village. This vital piece of equipment can help to increase survival rates of those who suffer cardiac arrest and its installation at Crich, which being in a remote location does not have easy access to major medical facilities, will hopefully prove its worth.
The defibrillator, box and installation amounts to a cost of around £2,000. Forkers have been recently involved in installing Severn Trent pipleline work around Crich and have said they are delighted to be able to donate the equipment.
Dr Mike Galer, Crich Tramway Village General Manager, said: “We are very grateful to Severn Trent and Forkers for this defibrillator in case of any emergencies, which we have sited at our Admissions point where our visitors enter and leave the site. We hope that it will not be used, but we have trained first aiders on hand should it be necessary.”
Robert Blincow, Engineering and Facilities Manager at Crich, added: “Defibrillators deliver an electric shock to re-organise the rhythm of the heart. Defibrillation within 3 to 5 minutes of cardiac arrest can produce survival rates as heigh as 50 to 70%. Each minute of delay to defibrillation reduces the probability of survival to hospital discharge by 10%.”