Help save a fellow Londoner’s life

I think this is a very worthwhile initiative. But it isn’t just a case of providing this equipment, but the training to use it and whilst training videos have their place there is nothing more useful than an in person practical lesson. When you consider all those retirees who were trained to give CPR and use defibrillators would it not be cost effective to offer refresher training to all those who still reside in London. I refer to firemen, police officers, military and medical professionals who retired in the last 10-20 years.

I will be looking out to identify defibrillators at my local tube and train stations from now on. This survey has alerted me to the fact they are there. Well done Mayor Sadiq for having them there.  I would need training to use one so I'm keen to see where I can get that.  Thanks too for organising the training !  I will definitely go for it.

i would like to do a free course on how to use a defib  but dont know where to go

I forgot schools.   Empower children of all ages, give them a skill and knowledge

• Would you feel confident using a defibrillator if you see someone having a cardiac arrest? Why or why not? 

  If the instructions were clear and I could find a defib then I would try and use it

• What might hold you back from using a defibrillator? 

  Poor intsructions

• Where in your local area or community have you seen a defib? 

  Station, Hospital but not enough nearby

  What kind of places would you like to see more defibs? 

  Supermarkets, shops, work places, public offices, post offies

• What, if anything, would encourage you to sign-up to a free course on using defibrillators and lifesaving skills?  

  I would very much appreciate a free course on using a defib or lifesaving at a sensible time of day and near me

  What do you think might help raise awareness of these new defibrillators and empower people to use them?  

  Getting them into soaps on tv, instagram, tiktok, discussion on music radio, ads on things liked spotify, make it easy for people to access courses, illustrate what they look like, get conversation going - social media can be for the good not all bad

Apparently, it's easy. I never cease to wonder at the complexities of technology and human endeavour, but these take you through the steps and won't fire if there's a sign of a heartbeat. I said I was fairly confident in using one, having seen what's involved and being reasonably bright, but it really is much simpler than everyone, including myself, thinks. I think that's the message that needs to be put out, that anyone can use them, they will take you through the process.

I have seen defibrillators in many places and while I have heard that between 999 and the instructions on the machine that they are relativele straightforward I still would feel apprehensive about using one. 

Giving CPR is something I would feel more confident but am probably basing my knowledge on somethiong I read a long time ago... 

I would be quite keen to have some training on this as I think it is important partly as I cycle in the countryside I might find myself far from immediate help if someone needed it. We should all have some basic first aid training beyond anything from DoE. 

I think that  more awareness is needed on where Defibrillators are and how to use them. I would welcome training on how to use one and how to do CPR.  When volunteering in London this summer I used an ap to find info on where to find the nearest defibrillator but it seemed aimed at professionals and finding a professional near by, but having to try and make sense of this took time and that is what you don't have in an emergency situation. 

First aid should be taught in schools, starting with Reception learning how to use 999 to get help then progressing on to CPR by 11. Then we should have Appointed Persons first aid classes more freely available and subsidised for adults. It's not just about CPR, it's knowing how to manage a casualty incident - risk assessing and keeping yourself and the casualty safe, how to call 99 effectively and what happens when you make a 999 call. Then the actual administering of lifesaving aid. 

I would be comfortable-ish preforming CPR on an adult (I did a baby CPR course not long ago and an adult one years ago) but I would have no idea how to safely use a defibrillator. I would be interested in doing training so I knew how to do so.

There are lots of willing people in these Comments but with little recent knowledge - me included.

I had a look - if you Google 'defib near me' it will give you links to where they are located and their availability times.

I sympathise with the 'how do I use it?' comments.  Again, Google 'using a defib' gives videos and advice.  Preferably before you need it!

I have never seen a heart attack, but I have had to use my office's general first aid training at five road accidents and for the occasional domestic-grade mishap.  It would be much better to give a couple of hours of free easy-access training for a wide range of first aid issues - cuts, diabetes, falls, burns, accidents and heart attacks/defibs.   This gives you confidence to get involved, not just assume that the person kneeling by the victim knows anything - they probably don't. 

 Yes, defibs are high profile magic boxes, but I have no idea of the relative statistics.  These choices and investment should be guided by evidence, not by guessing, well-meaning campaigns or PR value. 

Would like to update  my life-saving skills as CPR changes on a regular basis and mine have not beven updated since 2017.

The difibrillator normally talks  one through how to use it, but again, to actually practice is always good for muscle memory and confidence.

Defibrillation should not be attempted outside an intensive care unit or operating theatre. 

If someone has had a real cardiac arrest (ventricular fibrillation or cardiac a-systole, or persistent ventricular tachycardia) brain damage (or death) happens within 15-25 seconds. It’s too late by the time the defibrillator can be made operative. 

Most ‘cardiac arrests’ are faints or fits. Pushing up and down on the sufferers chest or giving them an electric shock will do only harm. 

Such interventions are likely to cause much more harm than benefit.

What is the evidence that public defibrillators (or cardiopulmonary resuscitation)  do any good? 
 
I’m a retired medical professor and have worked in A & Es, in Intensive Care Units and in Operating Theatres. 

I’ve also trained lots of medical students and paramedics in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and in the use of defibrillators. It’s not easy. 

iI have seen defibrillators in stations and also on the street in Twickenham.  I do not know how to use them and would like to learn - also would like to learn more about how to give first aid in general.  I think that this initiative is a very good idea.