A woman who rushed to help her seriously ill mother in the early hours of the morning has spoken of her shock at finding the local defibrillator out of action.
Lynsey Clague went to use the machine in Bride after her mother Helen, 76, fell unwell last Thursday. But she discovered the device had not been operational for almost three weeks.
The incident came as the island’s ambulance service confirmed that only around 30% of registered public defibrillators are currently available for use.
Lynsey said: ‘This is an incredibly sad and concerning situation.’
Helen, a retired biology teacher, has Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP), a degenerative condition that affects balance, movement, vision and speech. The disease has left her reliant on a wheelchair and she has also suffered a stroke and, more recently, a toe amputation.
Although she was not in cardiac arrest during last week’s incident, her condition carries high risks of aspiration, choking and seizures, meaning access to life-saving equipment is essential.
Lynsey described her dismay at discovering the Bride device unusable. In a letter to the local commissioners, she said: ‘This is not acceptable at any level and could have resulted in loss of life in our small rural village community.’
She and her family raised their concerns with their MHK, Tim Johnston, who contacted the head of the ambulance service, Will Bellamy.
Mr Bellamy replied: 'Currently only around 30% of registered public defibrillators are available for deployment. Many are showing alerts for expired pads, depleted batteries or devices reaching end-of-life status.’
He said automated reminders are sent to each device’s guardian to encourage real-time updates, but ‘compliance remains a challenge’.
The issue in Bride was traced to a flat battery and a delay in sourcing a replacement due to uncertainty over the specific model, he said. The device is now working again.
Mr Bellamy added that out-of-hospital cardiac arrests ‘require a strong community response to improve survival rates’, and the ambulance service is beginning a focused effort in each area to inspect the machines.
Lynsey believes urgent steps must now be taken to prevent a repeat.
‘We need adequate systems for checking and maintaining equipment, clear processes for ordering replacement parts, and timely responses to urgent correspondence from guardians,’ she said.
She also stressed the importance of supporting the volunteers responsible for the machines, ensuring they have the training and resources required.
The family thanked the Emergency Joint Control Room, ambulance crews, Manx Care and members of the local community who assisted during the incident.
‘We are eternally grateful,’ Lynsey said. ‘It is quite possible we will have to call on these services again many times as our journey with PSP progresses. The outcome last week could have been very different.’
Craig’s Heartstrong Foundation, which has donated more than 600 of the life-saving machines to various offices, clubs and communities around the island, called for checks of equipment to be carried out on regular basis to ensure they are in full working order.
The charity said in a statement on Facebook: ‘The donation of these machines means that the responsibility of the upkeep, testing and maintenance of them is left with the guardian or owner.
‘We will do everything we can to help or advise these owners on how to do this whenever we are approached.
‘Your defibrillator machine should be checked on regular occasions to ensure that the pads and batteries are in full working order.’
It added: ‘If you have a defibrillator under your control, please ensure it is registered at www.defibs.im and checked on a regular basis. If your machine is registered you will receive emails from Manx Care to warn you that your pads and batteries are nearing expiry, weeks in advance.
‘Please take this opportunity to check your machine so an incident like this does not happen again. We are grateful that the person involved [Helen] is ok but this could have had a very different outcome.’