Emily Farrow, Ward Manager for Thornton Ward at Arnold Lodge recently supported patients in accessing training to use Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs).
During a hospital life support training session, Emily recognised that this same training was not offered to our patients. Emily decided to speak to Tony Earp, Lead for Hospital Life Support for Arnold Lodge, Tony also volunteers for East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) as a community trainer. Emily learnt from this conversation that EMAS holds training sessions for people using AEDs.
Tony agreed to put on a session with the patients on Thornton Ward which had a great turn out. The patients thoroughly enjoyed the session and learnt the locations of AEDs in the community, how to fit the pads, administering a shock and CPR.
Emily said:
“We want to ensure our patients have access to a wide range of experiences and I wanted to provide them with the opportunity to complete this important training. We are so grateful to Tony for providing such a great opportunity so our patients feel confident on how to use this life saving equipment.”
Feedback from the patients was great - they now feel more comfortable in using AEDs if they needed to do so. They were also grateful for the opportunity to ask questions about basic life support.