In the wake of Restart a Heart Day, the Queens Hotel in Southsea now has a defibrillator on site.
Kind-hearted Lara Hardwick was inspired to raise funds for a defibrillator after her Dad, Alan, a fit and healthy 67-year-old, had a cardiac arrest back in April, when he was jogging in Southsea.
Significantly an incredible set of events ensured Alan survived the medical emergency. Now Lara and her family hope the defibrillator will help to raise the chance of survival for others.
“A friend happened to pass my Dad a few seconds before the incident and they called the ambulance. Then an off-duty nurse who happened to be driving by, parked up and started good, strong CPR.
“The builders from the site opposite also performed CPR. Our hero Josh, trained from his time in the army. Paramedics arrived and put Dad into an induced coma to protect his brain. They took him straight into resus and then onto intensive care. He was in hospital for 3 weeks in which time he slowly but defiantly came back to us.
“Undeniably we count our lucky stars every day to still have him with us,” said Lara.
After taking a while to get her trainers back on, Lara and her partner Tom ran the Hackney Half Marathon in May. With close friends and family they decided to raise money for a defibrillator. This will hopefully go on to give another person the best
chance possible.
Lara added: “Just 10.8% of people who experience a cardiac arrest outside of hospital survive. Taking 5 minutes out of your day to learn CPR from this easy link could help increase that number.
“Figures published by London Ambulance Service also show that when a Public Access Defibrillator (PAD) was used by a bystander and at least one shock was delivered to patients, the survival rate was more than five times higher (57%).
Anne Jolly MBE, Founder of SADS UK, the charity who arranged for the defibrillator to be sited at the hotel, said: “We are pleased that thanks to Lara, her family and supporters, the Queens Hotel will now have a defibrillator on site.
“SADS UK is passionate about saving lives and promotes the importance of individuals learning CPR and how to use a defibrillator to help save lives. Since 1998 SADS UK has assisted thousands of schools and many communities to put defibrillators on their premises and delivered training on CPR and how to use a defibrillator.”
General Manager at The Queens Hotel, Portsmouth, Paul Playford, said: “We are really pleased to be able to accommodate the defibrillator at The Queens Hotel. We are known as the hotel at the heart of Southsea and we take our commitment to our local community very seriously.
“Obviously having the defibrillator based at the hotel means we can play an important role in the health and safety of our community.”
21st October 2022