Member Article

Defibrillators from Cardiac Science help Morrisons win St John Ambulance first aid award

Morrisons has won a St John Ambulance Everyday Heroes award for installing life-saving defibrillators from Stockport-based Cardiac Science in more than 400 of its stores. The £500,000 initiative funded by the retailer’s charitable arm, Morrisons Foundation, has saved at least five lives since it began 10 months ago.

Charity St John Ambulance named the supermarket winner of the Workplace Heroes category in its annual awards, which celebrate those that give, teach and champion first aid.

The Powerheart® G5 defibrillators – manufactured by Cardiac Science - also known as AEDs, can dramatically improve the chances of a patient surviving a cardiac arrest, when combined with cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

A Morrisons store in Blackburn was among the first to install a defibrillator and one of the five stores where a life has already been saved. When a customer suffered a cardiac arrest and collapsed in an aisle, the store first aider and her team were able to resuscitate him thanks to the sophisticated machine, which gives shocks to the heart to restart it.

As part of the initiative, Morrisons also arranged for more than 2,300 employees to attend sessions on how to use defibrillators and give CPR run by St John Ambulance volunteers.

Cardiac Science Managing Director Shaun Ingram commented: “It’s been a pleasure to work on this ambitious programme of install and training and fantastic to see that it has already saved lives.”

Mark Farmer, director of first aid services, St John Ambulance said: “Our Everyday Heroes awards recognise those who give and champion first aid to make a real difference. This huge undertaking by Morrisons to keep people safe has already reaped the rewards of lives saved and is a most deserving winner of our Workplace Hero award.

“Up to seven out of 10 people who suffer a cardiac arrest could survive if they are treated with a defibrillator within the first five minutes. We know from our research that members of the public would like to see more of these vital devices in their neighbourhood, so we encourage other businesses to install defibrillators as a matter of urgency.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sue Souter .