New initiative at shops in Kilkenny could save hundreds of lives

Efforts are being made to install defibrillators at Eurospars as part of a community initiative to have one outside all of the supermarket franchise's outlets.

John McCarthy, of Eurospar in Kilkenny and Willie Forde - who owns a shop in Castlecomer - launched the Defibrillator at every Eurospar Supermarket Initiative in County Kilkenny.

In a joint statement, both men said: “Having a lifesaving defibrillator outside our stores and making everyone aware of it will hopefully result in saving lives in our communities.

“I hope you will join with our teams to raise the funds needed to buy a defibrillator for our area.”

RTÉ’s Michael Lyster was on hand to help launch it last week at the Radisson Blu St. Helen’s Hotel, Dublin.

Michael suffered a cardiac arrest in 2015 and had to be resuscitated by the National Ambulance Service using a defibrillator.

He said: “I look forward to the day when each Eurospar has a defibrillator in place.”

When a heart stops beating from cardiac arrest every second counts. The chances of recovery are reduced by 7 - 10% after each 60 seconds.

Effective CPR coupled with the use of a defibrillator within the first 3 - 5 minutes of cardiac arrest can produce survival rates in the 49% - 75% range.

Funds for the scheme to have a defibrillator at every Eurospar supermarket will be raised through in-store collection, community fund-raising activities and contributions from the sale of a selection of Spar Range products.