Defibrillators on Campus
Last updated on 9 September 2019
Lifesaving defibrillators installed on Campus
17 new locations have been identified for the installation of lifesaving defibrillators across the University Campus. This is part of the University’s on-going commitment to improve health and safety provision on campus for staff, students and the wider local community, and now takes the provision of defibrillators on campus to 30. The new locations are detailed below and have been added to the campus map (click on the facilities tab) making it easier for anyone to locate their nearest defibrillator location.
- Reception in CAPE
- Outside Roger Stevens
- Outside the Facilities Directorate building
- Outside the multi-storey car park
- Outside the Psychology building
- Outside Pure Café, level 9 in Worsley
- Miall reception
- Conference Auditorium
- In the reception areas of Charles Morris
- In the reception area of Central Village
- In the reception area of Devonshire Hall
- Outside Fairbairn House Clarendon Road
Defibrillators in the following locations will be installed in the coming months.
- In the courtyard of Clothworkers Court
- In the reception area of Sir William Henry Bragg Building
- In the reception area of NEXUS
- Outside the reception area of Henry Price
- Sports Park Weetwood to cover pitches and public access areas
Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) is a leading cause of premature death. SCA occurs because the electrical rhythm that controls the heart is interrupted. A defibrillator is a device that gives a high energy electric shock to the heart through the chest walls to someone who is in cardiac arrest. This high energy shock is called defibrillation. The quicker the patient can be given shocks in combination with cardiopulmonary resuscitation, the greater the chance of successful resuscitation.
Defibrillators are easy to use and are very effective. They are designed to be used by anyone so training is not required. A defibrillator unit will issue verbal instructions and guide the user through its use. The units will not issue a shock unless the heart requires it – therefore they are safe to use and cannot be used on someone who is not experiencing SCA. Additionally, the units themselves require very little routine maintenance.
If you are faced with an emergency follow these steps:
- Call the University Security Services Team on 0113 343 2222 and Emergency Services on 999.
- Follow their instructions, they will give you the code to open the external Defibrillator cabinet. Internal cabinets have no locks fitted and can be accessed directly in the event of an emergency but Security Services MUST also be called.
- Seek help from another person to commence cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) while the defibrillator is obtained. If you are alone, commence CPR if confident to do so, and await the arrival of Security Services.
- Follow the instructions on how to use the defibrillator, a colleague from Security Services will arrive to assist at the scene.
Dennis Hopper, Director Campus Development said: “Strengthening the provision of defibrillators and increasing their accessibility across campus is a major step forward for the University. They have been located in publicly accessible areas of all large multi-floor buildings, and externally across campus which are easily accessible for all other buildings. They are bright and noticeable which makes them easy to identify in an emergency. I’d advise staff and students, if they see a defibrillator located on campus, to stop a moment and familiarise themselves with the instructions printed on the outside casing.
“We are grateful for the partnership with Yorkshire Ambulance Service, who have been highly supportive of our ambition to increase the number of defibrillators across the campus. The Service advised us on how best to proceed in terms of the distribution of the defibrillators across campus to ensure that all areas were covered and that travel times to access a defibrillator were kept to an acceptable reasonable minimum. We have registered the defibrillators on the NHS regional database, which means, when the ambulance service is contacted in an emergency, they are able to immediately inform the caller of the nearest defibrillator unit.”
Learn how to perform CPR and AED
If you are interested in training to perform CPR and use automated defibrillators go along to the Restart a Heart Day event, hosted by Leeds Medical Students, on 10 October outside Leeds University Union.
This is a voluntary group of 40 Leeds medical students who are trained by Yorkshire Ambulance Service as Community First Responders (CFRs). The group aims to have a pair on-call close to 24/7 to then be dispatched to high priority 999 calls in the local area ahead of ambulance crews. The group is also increasingly involved in outreach and education, both on and off campus. At the event, staff and students will be taught how to perform CPR and use an AED
