COMPANY IS A LIFE-SAVER!
A businessman terrified that he would suffer a sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) has launched Defib365 – offering companies life-saving defibrillators for just £1-a-day
Businessman Luke Scarr suffered mental anguish for four years after discovering a friend had a sudden cardiac arrest aged just 26.
He admits the fear has completely taken over his life – despite countless medical checks all coming back clear.
Luke said: “When I was 26 years old, I was in the pub game and a guy I knew told me that he had a sudden cardiac arrest when he was my age.”
“He was fit and healthy and working as a lifeguard when, at the end of his shift, he collapsed in the changing rooms. Over the weeks and months afterwards, what he said started playing more and more on my mind”
“I began to worry that I was the same age and this would happen to me. For the next four years, my worries became worse and worse until it completely took over my life.”
Then Luke, 30, devised Defib365, where defibrillators could be purchased for the equivalent of £1 per day.
The company, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, provides businesses and community groups with full training and support on how to use the defibrillator, as well as supplying the case and signage.
Luke said: “We want to make a difference. We want to make sure that if a defib is required, people have the confidence to use it.”
Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) is a condition in which the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating.
If this occurs, blood stops flowing to the brain and other vital organs, which results in death within minutes if not treated.
Last year, the British Heart Foundation reported 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in the UK, with only one in 10 sufferers surviving. In the same period, 346 people were killed by fire (80 of whom were victims of Grenfell Tower).
Luke said: “There’s legislation for businesses and organisations to have fire extinguishers in buildings but not defibrillators. Yet there’s more chance of someone suffering a sudden cardiac arrest than being trapped in a burning building.”
He added: “For every minute a person who suffers a SCA waits to receive treatment, their survival rate drops by 10 per cent.”
“If every organisation had a defibrillator and knew how to use it, it might just save someone’s life. And we mustn’t underestimate the fact that seeing someone die this way has a huge emotional and mental impact on customers and colleagues.”
Luke’s ambition is for a defibrillator to be located on every street in the North West.
He said: “Knowing that a defib is installed at a coffee shop, a business or other property I’m visiting, really helps me too.”
“It gives me peace of mind that if I did have a SCA, my survival rate is much greater.”
Defib 365 offers the medical equipment for £365 per year.
The firm also has a Community Champion scheme to help sport clubs, youth clubs and other associations raise funds to purchase one.
Defib365 will provide a fully-managed service, including an online fundraising page and offer support to help generate donations fast.
Luke added: “I don’t want the relationship with the customer to end when they purchase the defib. For us, we hope that is just the start. Ultimately, I’d like to see a defibrillator on every street in the North West.
“This is not from a business point of view but to ensure anyone who suffers a sudden cardiac arrest has the best chance of survival.”
Defib365.co.uk
0333 050 6649
hello@defib365.co.uk
