Responders’ CPR & Defibrillator Guide

In the bag…

e’re lucky to have people like Margaret Duggan and Keith O’Brien, and all the other Greystones Community First Responders.

These are the people who have trained to save our lives, giving up their time so that, attending to emergency after emergency, those around them will hopefully have a little more.

To find out just how we can also help in such life or death situations, we met up with the dynamic duo for a step-by-step guide.

And being the good souls that they are, Margaret and Keith later headed off afterwards and made a short video guide demonstrating what to do when it comes to reviving someone both with CPR and with a defibrillator.

You can check out our full list of defibrillators around Greystones and beyond here. As Margaret says, it’s always wise to make a note of the nearest one to your home.

Now, here’s that step-by-step guide to cardiopulmonary resuscitation – aka CPR – and using that defibrillator…

For any members of the public, it is advised that you wear your mask during Covid 19 and do not give breaths.

If you find someone collapsed on the street here is what you should do:

• First check the patient by shaking and tapping the shoulders and saying Hello Hello can you hear me

• When you recognise the person is unresponsive call for help by ringing 999 or 112

• Ask a bystander to get the nearest Defibrillator

• When you recognise the person is unresponsive start CPR

• Begin CPR by placing the heel of one hand on the centre of the patient’s chest and the other hand on top just between the nipple line. Start compressing the chest by pushing downwards approx 2 inches at a rate of 100 to 120 compressions per minute allowing the chest to rise

On arrival of the defibrillator switch it on immediately and follow the prompts

• Make sure the chest area is clear, dry & free from hair cut the clothes off if necessary and give the pad placement area a quick shave if needed

• Follow the pictures on front of the Defibrillator pads before placing them on the patient

• Place pads on patient’s bare chest as shown

• Always listen to the prompts on the machine

• Continue CPR until the defibrillator says analysing heart rhythm do not touch the patient

• Make sure everybody is standing clear

• The defibrillator will continue to analyse every 2 minutes and will give an instruction to either “shock” or “no shock”

• Before administering a shock make sure that everybody is clear and not touching the patient

• If it says, “shock advised”, press the flashing red light on the defibrillator until it says, “shock one delivered, it is safe to touch the patient”.

• Continue CPR immediately following prompts

• If there is no shock advised also continue CPR until the emergency services arrive

And now, the video version…

That list of defibrillators is here, and emergency contacts are here. Big thanks again to Margaret, Keith and all the First Responders…