Birmingham Central Mosque has taken delivery of two lifesaving pieces of equipment from West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS).
As part of WMAS’ Restart A Heart Week activities, the Trust presented the Mosque with an automated external defibrillator and bleed control kit this morning. Training on how to use both items and perform CPR was also provided to members of the mosque, who are all now in a position to potentially save a life.
A defibrillator is a device that can restart the heart of someone who suffers a cardiac arrest whilst a bleed kit contains a tourniquet and other trauma dressings and are vital to help save the lives of patients who suffer major trauma with catastrophic bleeding, whether caused by an accident or assault.
We are delighted to receive the defibrillator and bleed control kit at the Mosque and are thankful to WMAS for the donation and the training provided.
It is a real boost to the community for us to have these items and of course, whilst we hope they never need to be used, they may just help to save a life one day.
WMAS Chaplain, Imam Mohammad Asad
It was fantastic to people so engaged with the training this morning, all of whom now have essential skills in giving someone the best possible chance of surviving a cardiac arrest.
CPR is very easy to learn and anyone can do it! There is no better time than now, during Restart A Heart Week, to give it a go because ultimately, you never know when it might be your turn to try and save a life.
We are really keen to reach out to as many religious groups as possible and help support their communities by helping to teach CPR. If you are interested, please email [email protected] or [email protected] and we will be able to help.
WMAS Community Response Manager, Andy Jeynes
There are an estimated 60,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in the UK each year. The chance of a person surviving a cardiac arrest falls by 10 per cent for every minute that passes without an AED being used.
Survival rates can be as high as 75 per cent when patients are treated with the right care and a defibrillator in time.