The Cabinet Secretary for Health & Wellbeing, Nicola Sturgeon, met Semichem staff in Kirkcaldy, the first store to be equipped with a public access defibrillator in a unique partnership between the Scottish Ambulance Service and Scotmid.
Staff at the shop are the first in the country to have been
trained to use the automated defibrillators in a programme that
will see them rolled out to 40 Scotmid, Semichem and Fragrance
House shops across Scotland. The initiative is part of a
programme to provide Community Public Access Defibrillators in
areas where they can help save lives.
Working closely with the British Heart Foundation, the Scottish
Ambulance Service is helping Scotmid to purchase and install the in
store defibrillators, training staff to ensure that they can be
quickly deployed whenever needed. The SAS has worked closely with
the company to map its store locations in order to identify where
the defibrillators are likely to save most lives.
Nicola Sturgeon, Cabinet Secretary for Health & Wellbeing,
said:
"The chance of survival from a heart attack is much greater when
a patient receives early defibrillation within five minutes,
quickly followed up by advance cardiac care from an ambulance
team. This is a unique partnership that will benefit
communities across Scotland, with the potential to save lives."
Pauline Howie, Chief Executive, Scottish Ambulance Service,
said:
"The roll out of this public access defibrillator programme will
make a positive contribution to safer and sustainable communities
around the country. While we have world class ambulance
response times in Scotland, we know that in cardiac cases every
second counts and that equipping communities with basic life saving
skills and equipment will improve survival rates."
John Brodie, Chief Executive, Scotmid, said:
"All of our stores provide a service at the core of local
communities across Scotland and we are committed to helping them to
make a difference and improve people's lives. The public access
defibrillator project has been enthusiastically supported by our
staff, who are delighted to be part of such an important
initiative."