Automated External Defibrillator (AED) System.

Contents

  1. Scope of AED Scheme
  2. AED Scheme Management
  3. Documentation
  4. Equipment type, location and signage
  5. Operative Training and Register
  6. Maintenance of Equipment
  7. Use of AED Equipment
  8. Actions in Case of Emergency
  9. Other Information

1. Scope of the Scheme. The UL AED Scheme is coordinated by the UL Health and Safety Office and its primary goal is to assist in the case of on-site suspected cardiac arrest amongst UL students, staff and visitors. The university maintains a panel of suitably trained AED operatives and a number of AED units are deployed across the campus in key locations. The units are NOT intended for off-site use or by those without current training and certification.

2. Definitions.

Automated external defibrillator (AED): A computerised medical device that analyses heart rhythm to detect cardiac arrest and delivers an electric shock to the heart if necessary.

Cardiac arrest: A significant life-threatening event when a person’s heart stops or fails to produce a pulse.

3. AED Scheme Management. The Health & Safety Office serves as the scheme co-ordinator and will assist and liaise with departments and administrative units about AED management on campus; this includes AED equipment location, updates to legislation and regulations, training, procedures, documentation and all other aspects of the scheme. Departments and administrative units where AED’s are located are responsible for the arrangement of routine (weekly) inspections of the AED by trained AED staff members within respective AED location areas, i.e. Library, PESS, Student Medical Centre, Health Sciences Bld and Finance (Block A Floor 2). The AED located at Reception in the MainBuilding is inspected by the Health&Safety Office.

4. Documentation. There should be one document covering all aspects of the scheme, it should be updated regularly and should be available on the UL Health and Safety web pages. A current list of trained AED operatives including their mobile phone numbers, internal extensions and office location (Building) should be posted alongside the equipment and at Main Reception and Security Centre. This list, with the mobile numbers removed, should be included as Appendix A in this document. The operating manual of the AED unit should be included in Appendix B in the form of a PDF document protected against unsolicited copying and printing. A current printed copy is available on request from Health and Safety Office.

5.Equipment type, Location and Signage. The university owns a number of AED units, all of a similar type (Power Heart AED G3) (Fig 1). New units purchased will, as far as possible, be similar in type and operation, in order to provide continuity and consistency across campus.

These units are located as follows:

• PESSBUILDING – RECEPTION

• MAINBUILDING –RECEPTION, STUDENT MEDICAL CENTRE, FINANCE

• HEALTHSCIENCESBUILDING – RECEPTION

• LIBRARY – SECURITY RECEPTION

Each unit is located in a wall mounted cabinet of a distinctive type (Fig 2). The cabinet contains the AED unit and a list of AED trained operatives with telephone numbers. The AED unit is located in a purpose built carrying case and suspended by its handle on a carrier. Removal from the cabinet immediately sets of an audible alarm and flashing light. This can be immediately disabled with a key located on a chain within the cabinet.

The carrying case should contain four things:

1. The AED unit itself, including a set of electrodes within the lid of the unit.

2. In a pocket, spare electrode set(s)

3. In a pocket, within a sealed transparent plastic bag, a set of assistive
equipment: Razor, towel, wipes, shears, mask and gloves.
4. A hard copy of this document

Staff working adjacent to each unit should be suitably trained in order to be able to assist those sent to fetch such equipment in an emergency.

The AED locations have been chosen as both strategic and reasonably secure. Each is identified by prominent signage (Fig 3) and placed beside a telephone.

Fig1 Fig2 Fig3

6. Operative Training and Register. The university will provide suitable training (and refresher) courses on a regular basis. All UL employees will be encouraged to undertake AED training. The training is delivered by a competent trainer and operative refresher courses are required every 12 months .The Health and Safety Office maintains a register of all university staff who have trained as AED operatives. The list of certified operatives will be updated regularly and copies placed in the AED locations and in the appendix to this document.

7. Maintenance of Equipment. The Health & Safety office will keep a record of all purchases, deployments, machine use, incidents, inspections, repairs, shortages and so forth as may be observed or reported. In particular, a system will be maintained which ensures that a monthly check of all AED inspection records is carried out and recorded by the Health&Safety Office.

8. Use of the AED equipment. The AED scheme provides equipment and training and it is intended that the AED units will be inspected and used only by those with current training and certification. There should normally be no need for untrained persons to use the equipment. The university provides insurance cover for those who have been trained, under this scheme, to use the equipment in an emergency. There may be circumstances where individuals trained elsewhereare in the best position to provide assistance to a casualty and should not be actively discouraged from providing assistance. There is an obligation on all individuals offering to provide assistance to any or all casualties to work within the limits of their competence and training.

9. Actions in the case of an emergency. In the event of a suspected cardiac arrest, members of the campus population should be aware that an AED scheme is in place and that the correct procedure is to call the MainReception;

(UL emergency number is 3333).

All Reception Staff and Security staff who may receive an emergency call should be familiar with the emergency procedure, AED locations and the UL campus map.

They should take the following actions:

•Ask for and record clearly the exact location of the emergency

•Ask the caller to stay on the line and immediately send someone to fetch an AED from the nearest location –tell them where that is.

•Ask a colleague or bystander to immediately call 999 and request a cardiac ambulance to University of Limerick, location as given.

•Record the name and phone number of the caller, symptoms of the casualty AND ask if they (or anyone nearby) have CPR and/or AED training (record the answer).

•Immediately call the location of the AED to warn them to expect someone and to prepare the unit for immediate removal. (E.g. open cabinet, switch off alarm etc).

•Immediately start calling persons on the “AED operatives list” using mobile phone numbers. Continue until TWO persons have acknowledged that they will attend immediately.

10. OtherInformation The AED scheme relies heavily on the use of volunteers and equipment which can be used at short notice under stressful conditions. The survival chances of a cardiac arrest victim are improved significantly by rapid intervention, initially by First Aiders, then by the Ambulance Service. Whilst the university can provide a pool of adequately trained operatives and numerous AED units in strategic locations, the casualty will only benefit IF both the operative and the AED unit arrive at the casualty very soon after the incident is identified, usually by colleagues or passers by. Similarly, the ambulance service needs to arrive promptly and therefore needs to be alerted as soon as possible, but not before the AED unit has been called for.

UL Automated External Defibrillator ProcedurePage 1 of 11 Document Number SX016.1

Appendix A

(AUTOMATED EXTERNAL DEFIBRILLATOR)

AUTHORISED USER LIST, BY BUILDING

Issued February 2009

MAINBUILDING
BLOCK A
NAME / DEPT / EXTENSION / MOBILE
Maria Munroe / CES / 2585
David Conway / Finance / 3136
Ber O’Connell / Finance / 3164
Sandra Hammersley / Finance / 4310
John Fox / Finance / 2350
Marian Finucane / Finance / 2840
Eleanor Shire / Finance / 2378
Tanya Prior / Finance / 4322
Jim Ryan / MAE / 2333
BLOCK B
NAME / DEPT / EXTENSION / MOBILE
Patricia Montgomery / CES / 2303
Jimmy O’Sullivan / ECE / 3458
Nigel Coleman / MST / 4264
Catherine Adley / CES / 2646
John Mulligan / B&E / 3569 & Radio
Maria Quinn / Physics / 2490
Paddy O’Donnell / MAE / 2319
BLOCK C
NAME / DEPT / EXTENSION / MOBILE
Niall Cahill / Medical Centre / 2349
AnneMarie Sexton / Medical Centre / 4220
Irene Crowe / Medical Centre / 3501
Sheila Fitzgerald / Medical Centre / 3501
Majella Lynch / Medical Centre / 2613
Patricia Gale / Medical Centre / 2576
James Kelly / CES / 2499
BLOCK D
NAME / DEPT / EXTENSION / MOBILE
Ann Bargary / ITD / 3333 & Radio
Michael Kenny / Security / 3333 & Radio
Mary Finucane / A&R / 2601
Patrick Vaughan / Security / 3333 & Radio
BLOCK E
NAME / DEPT / EXTENSION / MOBILE
Adrian Thomas / Quality / 2096
PESSBUILDING
NAME / DEPT / EXTENSION / MOBILE
Cian O’Neill / PESS / 2871
Phil Jakeman / PESS / 2800
DJ Collins / PESS / 3075
Michelle Dillon / PESS / 2914
Amir Shafat / PESS / 4228
Joanne Moles / PESS / 2803
Rhoda Sohun / PESS / 4185
HEALTHSCIENCESBUILDING
NAME / DEPT / EXTENSION / MOBILE
Ian O’Donoghue / B&E / 4335
Pauline O’Reilly / N&M / 4210
Dympna Tuohy / N&M / 4213
Irene Cassidy / N&M / 4215
Una McInerney / CT / 2842
Ann Taylor / CT / 4279
Maria Garrett / CT / Unknown
Elaine Storan / CT / 3784
CSISBUILDING
NAME / DEPT / EXTENSION / MOBILE
Chris Exton / CSIS / 3108
Mikael Fernstrom / CSIS / 2606
PLASSEY CAMPUS
NAME / DEPT / EXTENSION / MOBILE
Gareth Drummond / Lenmac / 3517 & Radio
Tom Lynch / Lenmac / Radio
MSSIBUILDING
NAME / DEPT / EXTENSION / MOBILE
Wynette Redington / MSSI / 2821
Jeremy Robinson / MSSI / 2240
Brid O’Brien-May / MSSI / 3457
SCHUMANBUILDING
NAME / DEPT / EXTENSION / MOBILE
Patricia Bennis / Archives / 2711
SCHRODINGERBUILDING
NAME / DEPT / EXTENSION / MOBILE
Alastair Sutherland / LS / Unknown
Joseph Murray / MST / 4374
Trevor Hickey / MST / 2894
KBSBUILDING
NAME / DEPT / EXTENSION / MOBILE
Claire Armstong / P&ER / 2679
Grainne O’Connell / Economics / 2284
FOUNDATIONBUILDING
NAME / DEPT / EXTENSION / MOBILE
Sean McGrath / ECE / 2608
Philip Thornton / HR / 2239
LONSDALEBUILDING
NAME / DEPT / EXTENSION / MOBILE
Barry Rafter / CES / 4667
LIBRARY
NAME / DEPT / EXTENSION / MOBILE
Helen Enright / Library / 2163
Carmel Ryan / 3755
Julie Ward / 3131
Sean Fox / 2166
Dympna Gillman / 2166
Eileen Costelloe / 2158
Sinead Keogh / 3296
Michael Hayes / Radio
Chris Murphy / ITD / 2053
Kim O’Mahony / ITD / 3045
Bob Strunz / Acad.Aff / 2399

Appendix B

AED Operating Manual

Available at , Services, Services and Facilities, Health&Safety, AED information and location.

Appendix C

System for periodic inspection of AED units

  • Appointment of volunteers
  • Duties and responsibilities of volunteers
  • Inspection process including criterion for pass/fail
  • Inspection checklist (see attached). Current revision available at
  • Services, Services and Facilities,Health & Safety, AED Information and Location.
  • Procedure for check on weekly checklists and follow up actions
  • Register of inspections and follow up actions.

AED Inspection Record Sheet

Date:

Time:

Inspected by:

AED Identification:

Inspection Checklist (please tick)

Pass Fail

Status Indicator is GREEN in colour:

Exterior/Cables:

Nothing stored on top of unit

Carry case is intact and clean

Exterior of AED is clean/undamaged

Cables clean/undamaged

Cables securely attached to unit

Pair electrodes present and attached to cables

Pair attached electrodes in date

Battery:

Battery present and attached to unit

Battery in date

Battery charged for use

Supplies:

Two sets spare electrodes present

Electrodes in sealed packages and in date

Razor

Towel

Wipes

Shears

Mask

Gloves (medium/large)

Operation:

Unit self-test as per instructions

  1. visual indicators
  2. verbal prompts

Signature:

UL Automated External Defibrillator ProcedurePage 1 of 11 Document Number SX016.1