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Half of the Isle of Man’s public access defibrillators that were recently listed as ‘out of service’ are now back in use, thanks to a joint effort between Craig’s Heartstrong Foundation and the Isle of Man Ambulance Service.
The Ambulance Service confirmed that 32 defibrillators have been returned to active status after 64 devices across the Island were shown as unavailable on the online database at www.defibs.im.
Many of the machines had been taken offline because battery and electrode pad expiry dates had not been updated.
Craig’s Heartstrong Foundation contacted the registered guardians responsible for the devices, working directly with them to ensure the information was brought up to date and the defibrillators could be reinstated.
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In a statement, the Isle of Man Ambulance Service praised the charity’s work, saying: ‘Thanks to a partnership with Craig’s Heartstrong Foundation, 32 previously unavailable public access defibrillators are ready for use across the Isle of Man. We’d like to thank Craig’s Heartstrong Foundation and the defibrillator guardians for their fantastic work – this really is lifesaving stuff.’
The service explained that, in many cases, the defibrillators themselves were fully operational and simply required updated expiry details to be logged on the system.
Craig’s Heartstrong Foundation chairman Paul Healey said the progress made in a short space of time was encouraging.
He said: ‘After identifying 64 public access defibrillators around the island that were not correctly registered with the Isle of Man Ambulance Service, we are extremely pleased to report that within two weeks, 32 of these machines are now back on the map. The majority had just failed to update the Ambulance Service with new expiry dates.’
Mr Healey added that work is continuing to bring the remaining 32 devices back into service as quickly as possible.
Public access defibrillators play a crucial role in responding to sudden cardiac arrest, a medical emergency where rapid defibrillation can more than double a person’s chance of survival.