Public Defibrillator installed in Five Oaks at Les Amis

Islanders who live in the Five Oaks area will now have access to a defibrillator which has been installed at Les Amis. It is being installed for public access as the area has a large residential population, as well as Le Geyt day services and Les Amis.

The defibrillator was supplied by the Jersey Heart Support Group (JHSG), which is a charity providing support for cardiac care in the island. The charity was formed in 2011 by people living with heart conditions. Its aim is to carry on where hospital rehabilitation leaves off by continuing to battle against cardiac conditions. The JHSG works alongside organisations to supply and install defibrillators around the island. It also assists the cardiac team at the hospital with funding towards additional staff members, purchase of specialist equipment and generally helping to raise awareness of cardiac care in the community.

Mike Strong from Jersey Heart Support Group commented: “Our aim is to improve cardiac care in Jersey to benefit Islanders. There are currently 65 defibrillators for public use installed around the island and this number is constantly growing. Someone can go into cardiac arrest at any moment and time is critical, which is why it’s so important to have defibrillators available to the public. We would encourage Islanders to be prepared in case of an emergency as acting quickly could potentially save someone’s life.”

Shaun Findlay, Managing Director of Les Amis, said: “At Les Amis, we provide essential services and support for those with learning disabilities. Two of our clients have irregular heartbeats – heart conditions can by symptomatic of down syndrome and so our registered manager along with paramedics suggested it would be worth having a defibrillator on site. It not only improves the safety of our clients, but also for the wider community as before now, there wasn’t a defibrillator in the area. We are grateful to the JHSG for supplying a defibrillator which Islanders can now access in case of an emergency.”