Dublin Airport emergency response teams have saved the lives of 25 people since the introduction of its defibrillation programme in 2002.
This year alone five lives have been saved through the rapid use of defibrillators on people who suffered a heart attack in the airport according to the daa.
The daa has over 130 Airport Police Officers currently trained to use any one of the 50 defibrillators located throughout the airport campus.
Dublin Airport was designated a Heartsafe Airport in 2007 by the Irish Heart Foundation in recognition of its success rate in saving victims of cardiac arrest at the airport with the use of public access defibrillation.
Dublin Airport Managing Director Vincent Harrison said the saving of lives in this way was a critical part of airport operations. “Twenty-five people are alive today because of our defibrillator and CPR training programme. With an average of 60,000 passengers arriving and departing through the airport on a daily basis we need to be ready to respond swiftly to cardiac emergencies. I am proud to say that Dublin Airport is way ahead of similar sized airports elsewhere in the world in its life-saving track record.”
Commending Dublin Airport’s success in saving lives through defibrillators, Dr. Angie Brown, Medical Director of the Irish Heart Foundation said: “With 25 lives saved since adopting the Heartsafe programme, daa is testament to the fact that CPR really does save lives. By training staff in CPR skills and providing access to defibrillators, the daa has contributed directly to the improved survival rate here in Ireland.
“We hope more communities and organisations will follow the lead of the daa by becoming Heartsafe and equipping more people in the lifesaving skills of CPR and how to use a defibrillator,” she added.
Image above: Airport Police Officers Sarah English and Dave Redmond with 25 hearts representing the lives saved at Dublin Airport since the introduction of defibrillators in 2002
