Seaton Sluice Public Access Defibrillator Group

In September 2017 a number of residents formed the ‘Seaton Sluice Public Access Defibrillator Support Group’ (PAD Group), with an aim to improve the survival rates from sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) in the community.

Our PAD Group is now a registered charity, number ll79260, with our own constitution and bank account. Our stated aims are to purchase, install and maintain Public Access Defibrillators (PAD’s), and provide free Cardiopulmonary (CPR) and defibrillator awareness training for the First and Middle schools, businesses, residents and our local football teams.

We now have 8 PAD’s in Seaton Sluice which are registered with the North East Ambulance Service (NEAS), these are checked every week and a monthly report is sent to NEAS.

Last year in the UK there was around 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests. Every minute someone is in cardiac arrest their chance of survival drops by around 10%. If there is an incident in Seaton Sluice, NEAS control will direct the caller to the nearest PAD, and this can improve the chance of survival significantly.

Our PAD Group includes a Senior NEAS Paramedic specialising in cardiac care, and a Professor of Cardiology from the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle, and together we are supporting our neighbouring communities of Seaton Deleval, Whitley Bay and Tynemouth by providing advice and support and free CPR and defibrillator awareness training.

This community project has been very well received by the schools, residents and businesses in Seaton Sluice, and they continue to support us in our stated aims.