FEATURE
A charity provides lifesaving skills to Okehampton residents In just five years, an Okehampton charity has given the town eight defibrillators and provided lifesaving training to more than 400 people. Oke PADs was the creation of three local residents who wanted to make sure that the town, and its inhabitants, had access to the lifesaving devices - but not only that, the knowledge on how to use them and the understanding of what to do in an emergency. In 2017, Joe Rice, James Stevens and Darren Goodwin proposed the formulation of Oke PADs (Public Access Defibrillators) to support the funding and placement of this equipment and free training for all. With an estimated population of more than 8,000 (a number which continues to expand) the trio knew the charity would be beneficial to save the lives of local residents and anyone visiting the town. Since its formation, Oke PADS has managed to install eight defibrillators, taking the total in the town to 11*.
As a first aid trainer and Okehampton firefighter, Joe is no stranger to emergency situations. After running a first aid training course in Okehampton in 2017, Joe mentioned that he believed Okehampton needed more defibrillators. In attendance at the course was James Stevens, an Okehampton estate agent, who himself had been in an emergency situation where a defibrillator was not available. He agreed with Joe that more were needed in the town, and soon they had recruited Darren Goodwin who is the Operations Manager at Devon Air Ambulance, also from the town, and Oke PADs was formed. Joe said: ‘Defibrillators are all very similar, like a pair of shoes but they all look slightly different. Anyone can use a defibrillator - if you turn it on, it will tell you what to do, but in a highly stressful situation it’s not always so straightforward. ‘When someone stops breathing, you need the defibrillator to be there within five minutes but it could then take another five minutes to get it to work. It could be as quick as 30 seconds if you had the training.’
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