The Portishead Lions
The Life-Changing Event
One evening in 1992, something happened in the Somerset Hall that would change the lives of several people and, potentially, save the lives of many.
The Portishead Lions were celebrating their charter dinner and dance, when Bob suffered a massive heart attack. CPR administered by fellow Lion, Ian Coxen and Joy Murray, the wife of another, kept him alive until paramedics arrived 18 minutes later. They found his heart had stopped. It took five applications of the defibrillator to start it up again.
You’ll be pleased to know that Bob recovered and lived happily for another three years.
The Great Idea
Later, chatting with long-term friend and fellow Lion, Andrew Hill, they had a great idea. If more people knew CPR, anyone finding themselves in a situation similar to Bob’s would have a better chance of survival.
The Lions’ resuscitation and CPR campaign began. They trained fellow Lions across the South West. Then, five years ago, it was proposed they raise money for Public Access Defibrillators, then a recent idea enabled by new technology.
In March 2014, they installed the first one outside Boots in Portishead High Street. This was to be the first of many. By the end of 2018, Portishead Lions had raised over £70,000 and installed 22 devices in Portishead and nearby villages. They keep identifying new sites and raising money to install them. There are also four defibrillators in the area provided by other organisations.
Andrew and the Portishead Lions are extremely grateful to everyone who helped raise money for the project or made generous donations. These include Lions, their friends and families, local businesses, clubs and other organisations, and an anonymous donor who gave £18,000 in 2017, which accelerated the programme. They are also grateful to all those who provide sites for the defibrillators – and the electricity to run them – as well as the local tradesmen and electricians who install and connect them.
Don’t Worry About Using a Defibrillator
The Lions’ defibrillators are housed in special cabinets in convenient places around Portishead. The cabinets are locked, and you need an access code to open them. The 999 operator will tell you where the nearest one is, and give you the code to unlock it.
The equipment is “fail safe” and easy to operate. When you switch it on it speaks, giving verbal instructions as you go. What’s more, it checks for a heartbeat before it’ll start, and instructs your CPR efforts, too.
Here's a five-minute movie showing how easy and safe it is to use the defibrillator chosen for the Lions' project. The link will open a new page on the HeartSine website. Play the first movie for the HeartSine samaritan PAD 500P. Click here or on the picture to see the movie.
All the Lions’ defibrillators are covered by NHS insurance and you can read or download their leaflet (PDF) that explains it all here.
Your Role in the Project
Why You Should Help
Across England, fewer than one in ten patients survive an “Out of hospital cardiac arrest”. Compare this dismal result with Norway (1 in 4), where CPR is taught in schools.
After such a cardiac arrest, every minute without CPR and defibrillation reduce your chances of survival by 10%. Every second counts.
Here’s How to Help
1. Learn how to perform CPR
2. Learn where Portishead’s defibrillators are located
Keep an eye open for CPR training announcements in the local press. St John’s Ambulance, the Red Cross and commercial organisations provide such training sporadically. You can also see more how-to movies here:
- St John’s Ambulance on YouTube, how to perform CPR, less than 5 minutes
- British Heart Foundation, with background information, written instructions, and a movie, 23 minutes
With 80% of cardiac arrests occurring at home or at work, knowing the nearest ones will help no end if you ever have to fetch a defibrillator. You can save valuable seconds if you start running for the nearest whilst dialling 999 to gain access. Find all Portishead’s defibrillators that are available 24/7 here on our Defibrillator Map, or Defibrillator List.
You can use either, map or list, to navigate to your nearest device if you’re mobile, and we’ll keep them up-to-date as the Portishead Lions add new devices.