Last year, Acocks Green Ward Committee helped to fund the Business Improvement District plan to provide an automatic defibrillator for the shopping centre. It has taken a long while to find a store prepared to host it - their insurers were all scared about the potential risks. Fortunately, West Midlands Ambulance Service stepped up and they have provided free training which also brings the trained users under the protection of WMAS' own insurance. They have also kindly provided an extra defibrillator, so we now have one stored in Costa and one in Dazzle and easily available.85% of cardiac arrests can be helped with a defibrillator and some studies have shown that survival rates can reach 74% if an automatic external defibrillator is available. I've completed the training as well - just because it might prove handy in an emergency, although I sincerely hope I never need to use it.
