Retailer invests in 100 defibrillators in 100 stores nationwide
Tesco Ireland confirms that it is investing in a network of potentially life-saving defibrillators in over 100 stores across Ireland. Investing in the Automated External Defibrillators (AED) with stores nationwide will provide additional supports for communities across the country should an emergency take place.
The AED units are easy to use and are designed to support first responders and members of the community to assist in caring for someone suffering from a cardiac incident. While the first point of call is always to alert the ambulance services, the user is guided by the machine on what to do to assist until trained paramedics arrive. The units provide real-time visual and verbal feedback to the user on the force and rate of CPR compression during resuscitation.
Since 2014, Tesco has donated over €12,500 to various community groups to fund the purchase of defibrillators in their community; including sports groups, civil defence branches and local dedicated defibrillator groups, across the four corners of Ireland.
Director of Communications at St John Ambulance Ireland, Paul Downes, recently commented, “The reality is that most cardiac arrests occur out of hospital and often close to a friend or a family member. In these urgent situations, the accessibility of an AED is vital. The patient’s chance of survival increases greatly if an AED can be deployed early in the rescue. Tesco adding 100 new machines to the network of AEDs already publicly available nationwide, is a great help to first responders and potentially lifesaving to patients.”
Geoff Byrne, Chief Operating Officer, Tesco Ireland said: “We’re proud to support the communities we serve and to be a good neighbour in whatever way we can. This is a significant investment from our business, and we wanted to support our communities and give peace of mind to our customers and the general public, that should an emergency arise, a potentially life-saving defibrillator is available.”
In recent years, defibrillators have become easier to use, being automatic, portable and affordable. This has resulted in a significant increase in the number of AEDs in Ireland. Each AED in the Tesco network is automated to produce a report tracking the status of the machine and highlighting any issues daily and is monitored remotely by the company and a third-party provider.
In 2019, according to the Central Statistics Offices, diseases of the cardiovascular system accounted for 8,989 deaths, making up 28.9% of the total deaths in Ireland. Statistics from the HSE show that approximately 10,000 people die each year from cardiovascular disease (CVD), including coronary heart disease and stroke in Ireland.
