A defibrillator that had not been registered prevented a man who was running in the Belfast Marathon and experienced a heart attack from receiving help. The defibrillator was located outside Bethany Church. The man had been running a race on Lisburn Road in Finaghy, near to the church, when he collapsed on Sunday. A spectator attempted to save him using the defibrillator, but was unable to as it had not been registered in the national network.
Unfortunately, the ambulance service only holds the necessary code required to open the device when the defibrillator has been registered. When private organisations purchase their own devices, as is typical with community groups or churches, they must be registered after they are obtained.
After calling 999, the bystander, Shane Horan, tried to find someone who knew the code at the church. Despite finally finding someone they didn’t know the code either. In an effort to help others, Horan requested that any organisation owning a defibrillator should register it.
The church has confirmed that the defibrillator has been available to the public 24 hours a day, seven days a week for at least nine months. In a statement, the church said “regrettably it was not registered on the National Defibrillator Network. This has been rectified.”
Following the incident, Claire Hanna, MP for the area, praised the public who attempted to save the runner’s life, saying that they “really stepped up”. Hanna went on to call for increased training for the public on defibrillator use and maintenance of equipment. The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service has yet to comment.
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