Arnold Clark has invested over £150,000 in purchasing more than 164 defibrillators. These will be installed within branches all over the UK to help both staff and customers – as well as the wider community – in case of a medical emergency.
Arnold Clark Chief Executive and Group Managing Director Eddie Hawthorne said:
‘Hundreds of people visit Arnold Clark every day – our employees, our customers, our suppliers, our manufacturers and just general visitors to our sites. So we are taking a stand in our local community to make sure we provide a service that’s valuable – and that’s to make sure there’s a defib machine in our garages. Even when we are closed, there are still 21 external defibs available to the wider community.’
As well as investing in equipment, Arnold Clark is investing in training 400 of their 12,000 employees in both CPR and using a defibrillator unit. Recently the British Heart Foundation visited Arnold Clark’s GTG Edinburgh training centre to provide bespoke training to a number of employees.
David McColgan, BHF Scotland’s Interim Head, said:
‘Survival rates from out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in the UK are shockingly low, with less than one in ten people surviving. A cardiac arrest is the ultimate medical emergency and with every minute that passes without CPR and defibrillation, a person’s chance of survival decreases by around 10 per cent. Their chances of surviving are greatly increased, however, if somebody performs CPR on them. That is why it is so crucial that everybody knows this lifesaving skill.
‘Similarly, easily accessible defibrillators provide cardiac arrest patients with a vital lifeline until the ambulance service arrives, so it is fantastic news that local communities across the country are to benefit from these new defibrillators provided by Arnold Clark, and we look forward to seeing the impact this initiative will have in the future in helping to save lives.’
While there are trained employees at every Arnold Clark site, the defibrillators provide clear instructions to allow anyone to use them, both in writing and in the form of an automated voice. Once the pads have been correctly attached, it assesses the heart rhythm and will only administer a shock if it is needed.
Each branch with a defibrillator has also been working in their communities, informing other businesses where the defibrillators have been installed so they can be used in case of an emergency.