MP Alan Mak praises Hayling Island Community Responders in Parliament and calls for more volunteers

He spoke in a debate on public access to defibrillators and also encouraged more people to be trained in how to use the portable life-saving devices. During the debate, Havant MP Mr Mak said: "Hayling Island Community Responders is a voluntary emergency response group in the Havant Constituency. "The responders carry defibrillators and train volunteers to use them. They are often the first people on the scene in a medical emergency. "Will my Hon. Friend and my Right Hon. Friend the Minister join me in supporting community responders, encouraging more defibrillator training and encouraging more volunteers to join community medical response groups across the country?" Every year, 160,000 deaths - nearly a quarter of all deaths in the United Kingdom - occur as a result of heart and circulatory diseases. Of that figure, an estimated 100,000 people die each year from sudden cardiac arrest. The survival rate for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is around 8.5%. Without defibrillation or cardiopulmonary resuscitation, someone’s chances of surviving cardiac arrest drop by 10% every minute. If a sudden cardiac arrest victim does not receive CPR or defibrillation within 10 minutes, they are unlikely to survive. Hayling Island Community Responders are a group of volunteers working for the South Central Ambulance Service. They are usually the first on scene and provide emergency medical assistance to people before an ambulance arrives. Anyone can become a responder as long as you're over 18 and can spare at least six hours of your time per week plus one hour for training. To find out more, go to https://www.haylingresponders.org.uk/