Lymm has unique collection of defibs

With a fading pulse it became a race against the clock as the man’s heart needed to be shocked back into action.

A first aid trained relative rushed to help and began performing emergency CPR while a neighbour called 999.

Luckily the village also has a group of ambulance trained first responders who carry defibrillators and after being directed to the scene by an emergency call handler the defib was used to keep him alive until paramedics arrived on the scene.

The defibrillator and first aider saved his life and the man was taken to hospital and went on to make a full recovery after a short spell recuperating in hospital.

He was able to access life saving treatment within minutes – well before an ambulance could reach him with average response times in the area of over twelve minutes – due to a unique scheme set up in the village comprising trained first aiders and electric shock machines.

“We are the first line of defence and are making the difference between life and death”

Statistics from the London Ambulance Trust show if you have a cardiac arrest outside hospital you have 10 percent chance of survival but if treated by a shock from a defib the survival rate is more than five times higher.

Now Lymm is looking to beat the odds and improve cardiac arrest survival rates.

They have blanketed their entire village with defibrillator machines – also known Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDS) – so that a resident in the village centre is never more than 30 feet away from a life saving shock.

They have installed 23 defibs in key locations everywhere from business parks, vets, GP surgeries, boutiques, pubs, schools, shops, restaurants and the post office as well as the local croquet club.

They work by sending an electrical pulse direct to the heart to get it beating again.

The British Heart Foundation estimates there are 100,000 machines across the entire UK for a population of £62m.

But in Lymm - with a population of just over 11 thousand - there is one instant shock machine for every 550 residents.

Making the village one of the safest places in the Europe.

Incredibly the AEDS are just one lifesaving initiative in the village with nearly one in 10 villagers also trained in life saving first aid such as CPR as well as how to operate the AEDs.

And a further group of villagers have been trained by the North West Ambulance Service as specialist on call Community First Responders - providing mobile enhanced life saving treatment to stroke and cardiac arrest victims until paramedics arrive.

The whole scheme is the brainchild of local Lymm Parish Cllr Graham Gowland - a community first responder himself- whose father died of cancer leaving him wanting to start something lasting in his memory.

He said: “Although my dad didn’t die from a cardiac arrest I had been on a first aid course and saw this as one way of making a difference. I thought if I could just prevent one family from losing a wife, sister, mother, brother, dad, husband that would be great. So I decided to get other villagers onto first aid courses and it snowballed from there.

“We are definitely one of the safest places to live in Europe.

“Our coverage across the village centre means you are never far away from a life saving device or first aider.

“We are the first line of defence and are making the difference between life and death. I am aware of at least ten people I have personally helped who would have died if not for initial treatment. I have stabilised dozens of others. Often when we attend an incident we find someone from the family doing compressions whom we have trained in first aid – it all helps to save lives.”

So far the scheme - which started in 2013 - has seen dozens of people saved who may have died without prompt first aid treatment and the village AEDS have been deployed at least twelve times with half of victims surviving.

First aid courses run by the British Heart Foundation and the Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS) have between them helped train 1,750 villagers from Lymm and the surrounding villages on how to save lives.

Our main aim is to keep people alive

GRAHAM Gowland is one of a handful of villagers who volunteer as first aid trainers and on call community responders after receiving enhanced life saving training from the North West Ambulance Service. 

They carry portable defibs and life saving equipment and after an alert they can be at a victim’s home within four minutes compared to over 12 minutes for an ambulance. 

They work on a shift basis covering up to 20 hours a week and cover everything from minor ailments such as falls, strokes, cardiac arrests and serious injuries.

He added “The ambulance service are under exceptional pressure and we can plug that gap in the area until they can arrive. We provide basic life saving with oxygen, defibs and compressions. 

“We want to keep our community safe and these schemes all compliment each other.

There is a chain of survival; the call for help, initial CPR, use of oxygen/defib/compressions/ambulance and then hospital. If we can keep the first part of that working asap then we can save lives. Our main aim is to keep the brain alive with compressions after blood stops pumping around the body and heart until ambulance crews arrive on the scene.”

Blue Light Collaboration and Engagement Manager Robert Hussey, from North West Ambulance Service, said: “The scheme set up in Lymm is a fantastic example of how local people can work together and help their community, and we would encourage other areas to do the same.”

The life saving scheme set up by Graham has been so successful that he has now extended it to neighbouring villages of Grappenhall, Thelwall and High Legh where AEDs have also been installed and village first aiders trained. 

British Heart Foundation (BHF) says every year 30,000 people in UK have an out of hospital cardiac arrest either at home or in a public place.

Judy O’Sullivan, director of innovation in health programmes at the British Heart Foundation, added: “A cardiac arrest is one of the most serious medical emergencies. Early CPR and defibrillation can double the chance of survival.

“First aid courses are a great way to learn CPR and to use a defibrillator in the event of a cardiac arrest and can be lifesaving.”

16 volunteers are available within half a mile to help

THE successful Lymm scheme has helped many people – some have even done first aid courses themselves.

Graham added: “We help beat the odds so families and friends get to see their loved ones again.

“The AEDS are in key locations so that when someone is in trouble help isn’t far away.

“When someone dials 999 the ambulance crew directs them to the nearest AED and gives them directions to use it. Luckily we have a good number of them for people to call on in an emergency. They are pretty easy to maintain and only cost £100 per unit each year to upkeep.

“Having the defibs dotted around the village and visible really gets people focused on wanting to do our first aid courses.

“One guy I resuscitated in his 50s came into do the first aid course afterwards and said thanks. 

“He didn’t even have any health issues before he had a cardiac arrest and now he has a normal healthy life to look forward to and wanted to be able to help others in the same situation. That makes it all worthwhile.”

During Covid and the pandemic he says they continued working to save lives with PPE provided by the ambulance crews.

He added: “We were very busy and it was very scary at start but people needed helping and with the PPE it was fine. We took some of the pressure off the ambulance crews for the run of the mill stuff after the call handlers had triaged people first.”

During the pandemic a national app called Good Sam was set up which allowed volunteers to help vulnerable people in their area. Now it features trained first aiders and volunteers who respond to emergencies in their local area when alerted by the ambulance service and is also being used in the village.

Graham added: “ In our local area there are 16 people registered in a half mile radius that could potentially help in an emergency. 

“We also have locals who volunteer for another scheme called BASICS which involves off duty medical professionals who attend say car crashes before an ambulance arrives to treat serious injuries. 

“So overall we have great coverage when people fall ill.”

The life saving scheme set up by Graham has been so successful that he has now extended it to neighbouring villages of Grappenhall and Thelwall and High Legh .

And he has since started training the next generation of first aiders with young people, school children and youth scout leaders learning first aid so they can treat anyone who falls ill around them.

Where are the defibs located?

THERE are defibrillators dotted in 23 locations in Lymm – from shops to schools and sports clubs to surgeries.

Coupled with the help of the volunteers, they provide a blanket of lifesaving coverage across the village.

All of the village’s four primary schools and Lymm High School have one.

They have been donated from numerous sources within the community including Lymm Parish Council, Lymm Round Table, Lymm Rotary, the Co-op, Lymm High School, Lymm Tennis and Croquet Club, Lymm Rugby Club, Northwest Ambulance Service, Lymm Radio, Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service and Bollin Court.

Here is a list of where some of the machines – also known Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDS) – can be found:

• Lakeside Surgery, Lakeside Road
•  Lymm Golf club, Whitbarrow Road
• Lymm High School, Oughtrington Lane
• Lymm Leisure Centre, Oughtrington Lane
•  Co-op, Heatley Mere
• Co-op, Cherry Lane
• Spread Eagle Pub, Eagle Brow
• Cherry Tree Primary School, Hardy Road
•  Ravenbank Primary School, Pepper Street
•  Statham Primary School, Warrington Road
•  Oughtrington Primary School, Howard Avenue
•  Brookfield Surgery, Whitbarrow Road
•  Lymm Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club Club, Brookfield Road
•  Budgens, High Legh Road
• Tallulah Belle Boutique, Albany Road
•  Elmas Mediterranean Restaurant, Rectory Lane
•  Maple Lodge Scout Hut, May Queen Field Drive
• Lymm Library, Davies Way
•  Oughtrington Community Centre, Oughtrington Crescent
•  Lymm Baptist Church, Higher Lane
• Lymm Rugby Club, Crouchley Lane
•  Bollin Court, Mill Lane
• Lymm Fire Station, Cliff Lane