The shocking truth about your defibrillator…
(there’s a one in ten chance it won’t work)
It’s a sobering fact, that every minute’s delay in treatment following cardiac arrest reduces a person’s chance of survival by 14 per cent.
That’s why initiatives like the British Heart Foundation’s campaign to increase the availability of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) have been so successful, with tens of thousands of units now in place across the UK. And AED manufacturers have responded to the challenge by not only ensuring their equipment can be operated by trained non-medical personnel, working with straightforward instructions, but also by including a simple, built-in ‘self test’ mode, which checks that they’re working. (Good job too; as when is there ‘a doctor in the house’ when you need one?)
However, work carried out by JPen Medical has revealed that even though AEDs would pass a self-test, around 10% of them would still fail a ‘live test’ carried out by a qualified engineer. Not good for the patient, which is why medical professionals get their AEDs live tested every 12 months – just to be sure.
So what about the rest of us? Well, now the live testing service is available to non-medical AED operators too, from JPen Medical, which is the UK’s market leader in on-site medical device testing.
For a charge of £39.95 + VAT, the service entails one of JPen Medical’s qualified engineers visiting site and carrying out a detailed live testing schedule on the customer’s AED unit, which ensures:
· that it discharges a full set of stepped shocks,
· that it takes correct patient readings and discharges appropriately,
· that the battery holds sufficient charge to discharge at the appropriate level,
· that the pads are compliant
· and that battery and pad expiry dates are logged and monitored (so that JPen Medical can warn its customers about pending replacement dates).
Peter Averill, General Manager of JPen Medical comments, “It has been a great initiative to make AEDs widely available throughout the UK, but it would be terrible if a unit failed to work when it was needed.
“The medical profession has been live-testing its AEDs for years, and we’re pleased that we offer the same reassurance to everyone else.”
To find out more or to request a service, please either call 0845 602 8067 or email info@jpenmedical.co.uk.
Customer
Comments
I'm over the moon and you can quote me on that!" said Diane at a Medical Centre.
"I'm delighted with the service and the engineer was great, so patient!"