Citizens help save lives with new Loulé Defibrillator Network

Secretary of State for Health came to Quarteira and praised the initiative

Photos: Pedro Lemos|Sul Informação

It is a project made “for and with people” that will help to save lives. The Municipal Network of Automatic Defibrillators in Loulé is already operational, with 61 devices, distributed across several locations in the municipality. The initiative has the particularity of involving citizens in assisting those who suffer a cardiac arrest and, so far, 1600 people have received training. More will follow.

This network involves the use of a pilot system that works like this: after the alert, INEM will activate, with access to geolocation data, one of the people who received training to be able to help the victim.

The INEM, due to this innovative system, will have access to the exact place where the occurrence took place and where the nearest defibrillator and citizen, with training, are located.

“In these cases, speed is one of the keys to success. What we want is to get people from the population to give this support. Let's say that this is a pre-hospital network because it operates even before the arrival of the INEM vehicle», explained Nuno Marques to journalists, at the inauguration of this network, this Friday, July 2, in Quarteira, a session that featured the presence of the Assistant Secretary of State and Health.

 

 

In the Municipal Stadium of this city there is one of the 61 automatic external defibrillators (AED) in the municipality that are also found in city halls, parish councils, sports venues, concert halls, among other public spaces.

Also all Civil Protection, Fire and GNR vehicles are already equipped with this equipment.

So far, more than 1600 people have received training from INEM. In a second phase, it is intended to increase the existing equipment to 180 and to 3000 the citizens who have the capacity to operate the devices.

For Vítor Aleixo, mayor of Loulé, this is an « «extremely important project, due to its size, and because, at its genesis, is the assistance to any citizen who, from one moment to another, may suffer a cardiac arrest ».

“The innovative feature of this project is the presence of the common citizen who receives training from the authorities. This means the community taking care of itself and that is an extraordinary innovation,” he added.

Because, as Nuno Marques, ABC president explained, in these cases, a minute more – or less – can be the difference between life and death, as was recently seen with Christian Eriksen, player from Denmark who had a break heart in a European football game and that he survived due to his quick acting.

 

 

According to this official, in the Algarve alone, in 2019, there were more than 1100 events linked to cardiac arrest. Since the success rate is low all over the world, the solution may even include the creation of this «network, since the next 8 minutes are decisive for the victim to be saved, without any neurological sequel».

“We know that we are activating properly qualified people to be on basic life support and using automatic defibrillators. While the INEM vehicle is on its way, we are putting other people in the population in an act of citizenship to help a victim who had an incident and who could be any of us», he said.

Present at this ceremony, António Lacerda Sales, Deputy Secretary of State and Health, said that this project is "another excellent example of the indisputable intersectoral work", since it involves the municipality of Loulé, ABC and INEM.

 

Photos: Pedro Lemos | Sul Informação

 

 

 



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