Recent discussions
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Daniel Cherrier
According to my experience in emergency field and as an instructor for many years, it is obvious to me that AED should not be in a locked cabinet. When an emergency occurs, as far as cardiac arrests are concerned, stress among the emergency personnel and also with the layperson who is willing to help the cardiac arrest patient is at its most high level. So if the accessible AED is in a locked cabinet, that will bring confusion and increasing the stress level to the rescuers. In a lot of public facilities, it is difficult and a waste of precious seonds to try to get the AED and some security personnel has the bad idea of thinking that they are the only individuals to respond to a cardiac arrest episode. We all know that this is not true at all, every person who is trained to perform CPR should have access to an AED, no questions asked.
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Peter Mertins
I agree with this articles concluding statements. AED cabinets should not be locked to public,an if so, an easy,safe and effective method should be devised to gain access..
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Andrew Benson
I would strongly advise against having locked cabinets in the setting of public access defibrillators. The program I was associated with for 25 years supported in excess of 400 public access defibrillators and never had an incident of vandalism or theft. I will qualify the statement that our experience was almost exclusively with indoor AEDs. we have limited experience with AEDs place in outdoor public settings.
As has been well established, ready access to defibrillators enhance the outcome of victims of cardiac arrest. Our own experiences would indicate better than a 50% survival to discharge when a PAD device is used.
I believe several aspects need to be balanced: ownership and cost of the AED will at times heighten the concern and implications for theft and vandalism which can be offset by support of a program (and back up devices should it occur); vs the public perception of a locked device suggesting it is not for everyone's use, regardless of training and may create inherent delays in access and application of the AED as well potential for damage to the case and or the individual trying to access the AED.
We need to ensure everyone has access to these potentially life saving devices as well as educating the public about their availability and need.
Thanks for the opportunity
Andy Benson
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Wendy Bissett
Excellent review - thanks for sharing And providing the opportunity for feedback. I think a simple cabinet with an alarm triggered door (like some fire extinguishers) would be enough of a deterrent to theft but not delay access.
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Andrew Benson
I would strongly advise against having locked cabinets in the setting of public access defibrillators. The program I was associated with for 25 years supported in excess of 400 public access defibrillators and never had an incident of vandalism or theft. I will qualify the statement that our experience was almost exclusively with indoor AEDs. we have limited experience with AEDs place in outdoor public settings.
As has been well established, ready access to defibrillators enhance the outcome of victims of cardiac arrest. Our own experiences would indicate better than a 50% survival to discharge when a PAD device is used.
I believe several aspects need to be balanced: ownership and cost of the AED will at times heighten the concern and implications for theft and vandalism which can be offset by support of a program (and back up devices should it occur); vs the public perception of a locked device suggesting it is not for everyone's use, regardless of training and may create inherent delays in access and application of the AED as well potential for damage to the case and or the individual trying to access the AED.
We need to ensure everyone has access to these potentially life saving devices as well as educating the public about their availability and need.
Thanks for the opportunity
Andy Benson
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Mike Janczyszyn
This is an interesting topic to explore. Being a public access to defibrillator coordinator, I deal with questions about this all the time. We unofficially keep track of our 24/7 cabinets that are unlocked.
While not having accessed the research, I have concerns that thefts might be underreported as they are here. They rarely get reported to police and they just end up not buying another AED and leaving that area empty, or they replace it at a cost to themselves.I'm a little confused with the search criteria; one says it ended in May 2024 while the other paragraph said June 2024. Petty difference, I know…
I'd be curious about the differences between the locked cabinets as well. Some would have a physical key vs. a keypad. We have just introduced a phone application called GoodSAM that would give someone the keypad number if someone called 911. Even in that instance, I would still see a potential delay in getting the code to the right person. The app holder would have it but maybe it's needed sooner. The call-taker may be busy with other things to provide the code right away as well; or maybe all the codes are the same; just providing a deterrent.
Another interesting avenue would be the education part. It is mentioned once in there. More education would hope to receive less theft (that's the hope anyway).
Very excited to see further reviews and research on this and hoping Canada can be part of one such study.
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Suzanne Vanderlip
I agree with the challenges outside healthcare and EMS stations related to locked boxes that contain an AED. In this day and age of easy access to cell phones the public can call 911 or (other emergency number of the area or country) to ensure that EMS response is activated. However with the encouragement of training the public in bystander CPR and early defibrillation it is important to have access to an AED. The idea of tracking the AEDs related to theft is an option as well.
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Sherry Campbell
The format in which this article has been set up is very clear and easy to read.
An area that was not discuss was the demographic location of the AEDs - does identify community (not in a building), but what area in the community are these AEDs located? Outside a shopping plaza, busy intersection, etc.? What country - In Canada - USA - Europe?
Thank you for allowing me to review.
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Peter Mertins
I appreciate the global perspective and treatment recommendations that are listed in this article regarding immediate care for amputations and avulsions.
Primary care for a patient/victim experiencing life threatening bleeding should always be stressed when referring to this topic. Also, please add that the wrapped body part , after being placed in the airtight bag (cooling container) be labeled with the time that the part was cared for.
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Brenda Brandt
Working and Living in rural Saskatchewan can sometimes be a challenge. Our town of approx 300 people and surrounding community of another 300 people have access to 3 AEDs The unfortunate part is where they are located - in the school, community hall and skating rink/swimming pool {dependent on the season} These are great locations provided the emergency happens during school hours, when the rink or pool are open or if there is a community function on at the hall.
I know the community does not want free access to the building housing the AEDs but they cannot be accessed at any other times virtually rendering them useless. I am not sure what a good place with available access would be. People being people also do inappropriate things - I have heard of incidents where intoxicated persons thought it might be fun to try out the AED and of course damaged it. I have used an AED in my EMS career with positive results so know how valuable and timely there uses is. Good luck on finding an appropriate way to access and utilize this lifesaving resource