Elderly woman saved by Bexhill Post Office defibrillator

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.bexhillobserver.net/news/loc ... -1-7121738" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;?

An elderly woman who collapsed in a Post Office in Bexhill was saved by staff using the nearby defibrillator.

Staff and members of the public rushed to help the woman after she passed out in the Windmill Drive Post Office queue at around 4pm on Tuesday (December 8).

After calling for an ambulance and starting CPR, they grabbed the defibrillator and used it on the woman.

She was then taken to the Conquest Hospital by South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb) and was resuscitated en route.

Post Office manager Michael Hustwayte said Sue Ferguson and Angus Dyson were the heroes.

“The paramedics said if we didn’t do what we did then she probably would have died,” Michael said.

“It wasn’t a nice experience but it’s good to know it’s there and that we can use it when needed.”

The Windmill Drive defibrillator is one of 14 in the town, many of them donated by the Bexhill Lions Club.

Sue said it was not difficult to use and she would do it again if she had to.

“I would do the same for anybody, I wouldn’t want to do it again as it was quite traumatic but I would,” she said.

“You’re not going to stand by with someone lying there.”

A SECAmb spokesman said the service is very grateful for everyone’s help and use of the defibrillator before their arrival which was vital in increasing the woman’s chances of survival.

Community First Responders senior team leader Mike Dean replaced the defibrillator’s pads the next day and was happy to see it being used by the public to save lives.

“If you can get a defibrillator onto a person within five minutes, their chances of survival are much larger,” he said.

“They’re so easy to use as it talks you through it. You don’t need any training to use it but we do offer 20 minute familiarity sessions which can help.”