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Health

Beccles Medical Centre

The Beccles Medical Centre practice is housed in three adjacent buildings in the grounds of the local community hospital.
Tel.: 01502 712662

Bungay Medical Centre

The Bungay Medical Centre surgery is located in St John's Road, Bungay.

Tel.: 01986 892055

Chet Valley (Loddon) Medical Practice

The Chet Valley Medical Practice is in George House, 40-48 George Lane, Loddon.

Tel.: 01508 520222

Defibrillator

A defibrillator (AED) has been installed at Kirby Cane Memorial Hall for public use in an emergency since 2014.

Sudden Cariac Arrests (SCAs) happen between 140,000 and 200,000 times a year in the UK, making it one of the UK’s largest killers. The potential for saving a life is dependent on time; the faster medical help is administered, the better the chance of survival.

Survival: 5% with CPR alone; 50% with defibrillation

Following an SCA the chance of survival decreases by 23% per minute. Sometimes an ambulance may not be able to get to the patient within five minutes. It is therefore very important that medical treatment starts as soon as possible. Statistics suggest that if a person has an SCA, and you only use CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) to help the victim, the survival rate is only 5%. By using an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED), the survival rate increases to 50%. (CPR, is a first aid technique that can be used if someone is not breathing properly or if their heart has stopped). The UK Resuscitation Council suggests an AED should be available wherever medical treatment is more than five minutes away. In practical terms this means the whole of the UK. AEDs allow you, the public, to take on a key role to support emergency services who would otherwise be hindered by the time it takes to reach the victim.

An AED is a portable defibrillator especially designed for people with no medical background.  The AED has voice commands and screen messages to guide you step-by-step through the process and its intelligent technology will only allow it to shock a ‘shockable’ heart rhythm.  

AED Location

 Our community is now fortunate to have an AED in the centre of our parishes on the wall of the Memorial Hall in Kirby Cane, courtesy of the East of England Ambulance Service, the Parish council and the Memorial Hall. 

If you think someone is having a heart attack

Dial 999. The Ambulance Service will tell you what to do, step-by-step.

The Ambulance Service will tell you if you need to get the AED (defibrillator) and will give you the code to get into the cabinet, they will talk you through what to do. 

If you believe our local (Kirby Cane Memorial Hall ) defibrillator is faulty or has been damaged, please get in touch with the East of England Ambulance Service (see below) or your local parish council contacts (Iain Wright on 01508 518419; or the Clerk, Jane Love on 01508 518375).

Further information

This information was based on the publications available from the Community Heartbeat Trust. You can find out more from their site at
http://www.communityheartbeat.org.uk/

An easy-to-follow single page leaflet on what to do if someone collapses is at
http://www.communityheartbeat.org.uk/publications.php?dlid=26

East of England Ambulance Service
http://www.eastamb.nhs.uk/

First aid
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/first-aid/