One of our village community, Meg, is a trainee paramedic. We were delighted when she volunteered to show villagers how to use a defibrillator (AED) in an emergency. A new Aston AED was recently replaced by the Village Hall team, and fund raising for it has been ongoing since then. However, how many people actually know how to use one? Or know how vital it is to administer CPR while one is being fetched for you?

Over two informative sessions, thirty people from our area heard Meg provide a detailed explanation, accompanied by example real-use videos. But then everyone had the chance to use the test AED, and practice CPR on the dummy Meg had brought along.

We learnt that the first thing to do is assess the patient, call 999, then start CPR while asking someone to fetch the defibrillator from the wall outside Aston village hall. The 999 call will give you the box’s code to open the door and retrieve the AED. The automated AED will tell you what to do to administer shocks, while help is on its way. We also learnt how to administer someone’s EpiPen if they have anaphylactic shock and need you to help them.

A valuable lesson, appreciated by all, especially as this was Meg’s first public speaking role and she had purchased much of the props herself. Tickets were free, but the village hall made a contribution and funds were also raised for Meg’s chosen charity The Midlands Air Ambulance. If anyone else wishes to support this important life-saving charity please click here.

Thank you Meg, hopefully we will ask you to keep running this course if more people ask.