Do you have to have a defibrillator in a Dental practice or GP practice?
The Resuscitation Council in November 2013 published new quality standards for Dental practices and GP practices. Their wording is that practices ‘should’ have one and that they should have immediate access to one. They discuss the improved efficacy if someone is defibrillated within 3 minutes. Does this mean it’s mandatory? Probably not as there is no legal requirement.
However, I take a different view. They are now available for around £1000 and this is a small sum if it means the difference between life and death. I also get asked about the maintenance cost, it’s true that the pads and batteries will need to be replaced and this varies with the manufacturer so it’s worth asking what the on-going costs will be when making a choice.
I’m also asked if they make any difference?
Do defibrillators work?
Simon Walker was successfully resuscitated at his dental surgery by a receptionist and dentist. Thankfully they had a defibrillator on site otherwise it’s unlikely he would have survived.
A recent report from the Resuscitation Council has examined the use of defibrillators by First Responders and those that are available for immediate access. Although there is a difference in sample size I don’t think that alone can explain the difference.
They found that where defibrillators were available immediately there was 40% initial survival and then 21% survival to discharge from hospital.
We may think that £1000 is a lot for a piece of equipment we may be unlikely to need, and we probably hope we will never need it. However, the evidence is there to support having them immediately available.
I’m also of the opinion that there is an expectation from the public that healthcare premises would have one on-site.
I’ve written about AEDs before and you can read some general advice here or you are welcome to contact me.
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