ASDA agrees to have defibrillators and CPR-trained staff in every store

The huge supermarket chain Asda has announced that they are going to introduce defibrillators into every store along with training staff in CPR. An agreement between the store and the British heart foundation means that there will be 609 defibrillators in all Asda stores and offices by the end of this year.

Asda hope that this life saving equipment will increase the survival rates for people who suffer a cardiac arrest if they are out shopping as the current rate of survival is at a low of 10%.

A defibrillator is easily used and it can even be used by any member of the public as the machine gives a sharp electric shock to the heart to restart it. The effective shock could boost the survival rate of individuals as a result.

The British Heart Foundation estimates that over 60,000 cardiac arrests occur out of the hospital in places such as shops and other public areas.

A defibrillator is an easy to use machine that instructs the person on what to do and when to do it, for example it tells the user where to put the heart pads and a press of a button will instigate electric shocks on the person’s heart. The great thing about the defibrillator is that it will not release a shock to the patient unless they are having a cardiac arrest.

Research has shown that when somebody is having a cardiac arrest, every minute of delay in resuscitation and defibrillation reduces their chance of survival by 10%.

Dawn Clements, Asda's head of community, said: "The commitment we're making today could cut the amount of time a cardiac arrest sufferer has to wait for life-saving defibrillation."

BHF chief executive Simon Gillespie said cardiac arrest survival rates in the UK were "astonishingly low" compared to other countries.

He added: "Asda's bold commitment to become the first large retailer to have CPR-trained staff and public access defibrillators in every store will be instrumental in helping communities up and down the country access the life-saving support they need in an emergency."