Addressing misconceptions around the use of defibrillators

This can lead some companies to believe that if the defibrillator is unsuccessful in resuscitation, they can be liable for loss of life, and therefore, even having the machine in their building leaves them with an increased premium on their business insurance. However, for the majority of cases, this is completely untrue. Whilst having an AED in your office or workspace won’t necessarily reduce costs, it is very unlikely that your policy will cost more.

Having little to no training on how to use a defibrillator machine does not mean that you can’t use them in the event a colleague suffers from a cardiac arrest. All Defib Machines’ AEDs come with instructions, so you are guided through the correct procedures to carry out while the emergency services are on their way. Defib Machines defibrillators are equipped with a mechanism whereby if the victim has a pulse, the machine won’t respond, so the user is not at risk of worsening the situation

In 2015, the emergency services responded to 60,000 calls regarding cardiac arrest, and of those only 47% were still able to be resuscitated by paramedics. For every minute a victim is left untreated after a heart attack, their chance of surviving decreases by 10%. However, if a defib is used as a form of CPR within three to five minutes of the heart attack, the chance of survival is increased by around 60%.

Training isn’t vital when using the AED as instructions are always included, and the use of the machine could be a matter of life and death.