The Welsh Assembly’s Petitions Committee has called for the Welsh Government to consider passing legislation making defibrillators compulsory at public buildings.
A petition was handed in by Phil Hill calling for “Jack’s Law”.
Jack’s Law is named after Jack Thomas, a 15-year-old from Oakdale, who suddenly passed away in 2012.
Meanwhile, a defibrillator was donated to Blackwood Miners’ Institute by the Tommy Cooper Society on July 16, where staff were also trained on how to use it.
In 2013, The Tommy Cooper Society launched a campaign called Tommy’s Ticker Fund to boost the number of emergency heart defibrillators in Caerphilly County Borough.
There is no doubt that defibrillators are a life saver, I have witnessed their use in real emergencies. If, though, we make it law that all public buildings have to be equipped with them it raises questions. How is a building defined as public? Does this include pubs, multistorey car parks, small shops and so on? If such a building is equipped with a defibrillator who is trained to use it and who pays for the training? Who is responsible if a defibrillator causes harm to a casualty or a bystander? Who is responsible for ensuring that the machine is maintained and ready for instant use at all time?
I don’t want pour scorn on the merits of defibrillation but I think that these are the sort of questions that law makers need to answer before enacting legislation just because they think it will be popular.
Yes this must raise many questions regarding the legality of an untrained and unqualified person using a defribrilltor on an unconscious member of the public who is unable to give their consent to being touched.
I am surprised things like this take so long. A defibrillator should be in every state-owned or operated building with the designated first aiders taking further training on how to use it.
I would also add the modern defibrillators are a case of placing sticky pads on the chest of a person, pressing the on button and allowing the machine to do the rest. If the machine determines it needs to shock the person you hear a call saying “Initialising shocking. All clear” and it shocks. These machines are so fantastically easy to use you could have a scout troop successfully save someone without training.