A MEDIEVAL church has become home to a modern life-saver.
The vestry wall at St Mary the Virgin Church in Iffley village has been fitted with a defibrillator, which harnesses the power to shock someone out of a cardiac arrest.
Electric currents provided by the device can revive a heartbeat, as Mark Phythian-Adams discovered second-hand earlier this year.
Church warden Mr Phythian-Adams, who pursued the idea several months ago, said: “It evolved from the fact that a friend’s relative experienced a cardiac arrest.
“The existence of a defibrillator saved his life.
“The church has quite a large congregation and thousands of visitors. A lot of people pass through, particularly runners, so it seemed sensible to think about it.”
The village already has a defibrillator at The Prince of Wales pub, which was installed about three years ago after a community-led campaign.
Like the church, the pub is located in Church Way, but the defibrillators are still about a five minute walk away from each other.
Mr Phythian-Adams said: “It’s quite some way to that end of Church Way, and by the time you’ve got there it would be too late.”
According to medical research, using a defibrillator within the crucial first five minutes of a collapse can boost chance of survival by up to 70 per cent.
It is thought that each minute of delay in accessing a defibrillator can slash the probability of survival by 10 per cent.
The new machine was fitted in the churchyard this month, and was paid from a pot of church money largely raised through donations.
Mr Phythian-Adams added: “The congregation has been very supportive. Everyone who has seen it has said what a good idea it is.
“It’s very reassuring.”
He hoped to spread the word as widely as possible to ensure people outside the congregation area aware of its presence.
Prince of Wales landlord Steve Bant, who runs the pub with wife Sue, also welcomed the new addition.
He said: “It’s covering both ends of the village and the Thames as well.
“The feedback we get from customers about the [first] defibrillator is that they all know exactly where it is if it’s ever necessary to use it, and I’m sure it will be the same for the church.”
Training courses teaching people how to use the new machine in Iffley will be held in due course, though dates have not yet been announced.
In 2014 the Oxford Mail backed South Central Ambulance Service’s quest to install hundreds more defibrillators in Oxfordshire.
At the project’s helm was ambulance commander Dick Tracey, who retired from the ambulance service in May to dedicate more time to the campaign.
Published by Oxford
Times http://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/news/15682433.Church_installs_life_saving_defibrillator_to_help_protect_community/
25.11.17
