Council staff receive life-saving training

Published Thursday, 14th September 2017

STAFF at the Council-owned Centre for Independent Living (CIL) have been brought up to speed with life-saving technology following the recent installation of a defibrillator at the centre.

54 members of staff attended eight one-hour sessions lead by Debbie Kershaw, Hartlepool Council’s Quality and Safety Officer, which involved a mixture of theory and practical cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) techniques.

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They were also given rigorous automated external defibrillation (AED) training, detailing what to do if someone is having a suspected heart attack, how to give adult CPR, how and where to place the AED pads on the casualty and much more.

Ellen Spence, Hartlepool Borough Council’s Adult Social Care Team Manager, said: “We were delighted to have this vital piece of life-saving equipment installed at the CIL, and knew it was extremely important that all staff working from the building were suitably trained to use the defibrillator in the event of an emergency.

“It is a well-known fact that time can be the difference between life and death in a cardiac crisis, and by having our staff armed with the knowledge to use the defibrillator, we know they could make a huge difference to someone’s chances of survival.

“We are committed to the training and development of our hard-working team of staff, and are extremely proud at how hard they worked throughout this course.”

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The Centre for Independent Living is home to a number of organisations from the voluntary and community sectors, offering practical help and guidance for those living with a disability.

For more information about the Centre for Independent Living, please contact Caroline Armstrong, Team Co-ordinator, on (01429) 851370.