All schools in England to have defibrillators by end of next academic year

9 comments
  1. Yeah, makes sense. Lots of people in schools who might need one, they aren’t horrifically expensive. Surely all public facilities should have one.

  2. Whilst commendable, the chances of paediatric cardiac arrest being reversible via defibrillation are *extremely* rare. I remember London Ambulance was able to count on one hand the number of paediatric arrests of cardiac origin on one hand each year.

    But still, good idea having them around for staff, or in student populations with higher risks of WpW/Brugada Syndromes (albeit we could do more to simply screen those kids).

    You would arguably see more benefit from mandating first aid courses/refreshers for all children aged say, 10, 13, 16, the rate of pre-EMS CPR in the UK is dismal and one of the causes of poor arrest outcomes in general.

  3. Wow. I wonder how many times each year a school actually needs one? I suspect it’s hardly ever. Most decent defibs cost over £1k, is this really a good use of school funds?

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