South Western Ambulance Charity | Saving Lives with Jay's Aim

Saving Lives Together

Partnership with Jay's Aim.

Sadly only 1 in 10 people will survive an 'out of hospital cardiac arrest'.

A generous legacy from a man called Geoffrey has enabled us to invest in increasing the availability of lifesaving public access defibrillators, in those communities that need them the most.

Working through a partnership with a charity called Jay's Aim, we are developing links with local organisations, churches, social enterprises and businesses who are agreeing to host the placement of a defibrillator, in an accessible cabinet, in many of our priority areas.

Data from South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust is enabling us to identify 'Defibrillator Deserts', locations where we can see there are major gaps in provision in places where there is also the potential for high demand.

We know that once in cardiac arrest a patient’s chance of survival reduces by 10% for every minute that passes without access to life-saving CPR chest compressions and a defibrillator.

Our partnership with Jay's Aim is delivering lifesaving equipment, helping to educate local hosts as to how they can support their communities, and providing free access to CPR and defibrillator awareness sessions to increase local confidence in lifesaving skills.

Our Head of Charity, Zoe Larter, explains; "The defibrillators are being targeted on specific local neighbourhoods experiencing health inequalities based on criteria including; the number of active defibrillators already in the area, statistical indices of multiple deprivation (IMD rating), and the number of Category 1 (the most serious) incidents logged by the South Western Ambulance Service .

However, it’s not enough just to put a defibrillator in a community. The survival of a person experiencing a cardiac arrest also depends on someone being prepared to start CPR and to use that defibrillator to deliver a shock if necessary. That could be a family member, a friend, a work colleague, or a stranger, but with the support of a 999 Emergency Medical Dispatcher on the end of a telephone, they could start CPR and use a defibrillator to give the patient the best possible chance until an ambulance crew arrives".

Publicly accessible defibrillators in unlocked cabinets provide lifesaving resources.

Dan from Jay's Aim delivering lifesaving CPR and defibrillation training at The Plot in Plymouth.

Fundraising Manager, Louise Walsh, said;“The incredible legacy from Geoffrey gifted to our Charity will help to save lives for many years to come. Working with Jay's Aim has been brilliant, adding to our capacity to engage with our priority local communities, starting in Plymouth, to get defibrillators right where they are needed. We are so grateful to all of the partners who are helping us to improve the resilience of communities to quickly respond to a sudden cardiac arrest, when every single second counts”.