A NORTH Belfast woman has secured the installation of a defibrillator on the Cliftonville Road.
Fiona McCarthy works as an auxiliary nurse and is also a Workers' Party representative for the Oldpark and Cliftonville areas. After securing funding from the Corey Foundation, the life-saving device has been installed outside Neeson’s Pharmacy.
Last year, she helped secure funding for a defibrillator on the Oldpark Road.
"I started this campaign because I am determined to help reduce the number of cardiac arrest fatalities in North Belfast," she explained. As a local representative I want to continue to help the community. I want to see defibrillators installed all over North Belfast. I want to make a difference to people’s lives.
"The last one on the Oldpark has saved lives. There was a man who suffered cardiac arrest and although he sadly passed away, the defibrillator kept him alive and meant his organs were able to be donated.
"If a defibrillator is used within three-five minutes of cardiac arrest, survival rates jump from six per cent to 74 per cent. It really is that important, it really does save lives.
"The next area I will be targeting is Antrim Road/New Lodge – so once I can source funding, another defibrillator will be installed there too."
If someone has a cardiac arrest then the three most important things to do are:
- Call 999
- The emergency services should be immediately alerted to the problem. Once they have been called, CPR or Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation should be administered as soon as possible, if it hasn’t been already.
- Start CPR
- The emergency services will be on their way and you should be starting CPR, but now’s the time to use the defibrillator.
- Use the defibrillator – this can shock the heart back into a regular rhythm or re-start the heart if it has stopped altogether.
