Portable Defibrillator

[Dbearman]

Great topic and a Must for all line crews in my opinion . I will print out the poster and put it on our Union board . The company tried to buy them for the office ( go figure ) but even that was not approved by the board of directors . Its all about the money and to hell with safety equip. thats not mandated by OSHA . Bear

[BigClive]

I think we could do with a new poster image though. That one is a bit old fashioned and slightly sensationalistic.

Any volunteers for a posed shot of a lineman on the ground being given (fake!) CPR? Keeping in mind that the more realsitic and grim it is, the more the message will be driven home.

Incidentally, I emailed a few companies about whether they issued their guys with defibrillators or not. None of them replied.

[woody]

remember the picture like it was yesterday...gave everybody pause...remember the the foto-journalst won a prize...pulitzer they call it...give it for print journalists and print foto's. kinda like the oscars...but much more important...up there with some little trophy called the nobel prize. it,s really important to some serious newsies...when there not distracted by free buffetts or an open BAR. Remember it being a lineman being rescued by an apprentice...THE GIFT OF LIFE!!!!!!!. LISTEN UP ALL YOU APPS >>>>MAYBE SOMEDAY YOU CAN BE IN THE HALL OF FAME. APP saves a lineman. woody. ps. fighting for AED's ...take one to work...paid for it myself. woody

[BigClive]

I guess the existing one does have "shock" value, and the odd image does make people look closer.

I think the main message to drive home is that the machines were originally invented for linemen. Really, it's going to take more accidents until a lawyer turns round and says "Why was there no defibrillator?". And the more you guys bring the subject up, the less defensible it will be not to have issued them.

You bought one yourself Woody? Excellent. What did your co-workers think when you showed it to them?

[woody]

hey clive...they were stoked, but really the aed's are proven life savers. The first responders oath is we can't make the situation worse...so what the hell lets do anything to make it better. I'm hoping to shame the company into buying some...but things move slowly here...especially change!!! I will say this though...recently it was reported that a passenger died on an international flight into miami fla and one of the contributing factors was the onboard AED's batteries were dead! Prices on these devices are coming down but it's still a new device that has only recently been sold to the general public. change happens...but unfortantly slowly. woody P.S. KEEP UP THE CAUSE AND THE FIGHT!!!! GOOD THREAD!!!!!!!

[neil macgregor]

clive and everyone else is right we should have de-fib,s on site
but it will never happen it,s cheaper to give out a little composation every now and again than give every crew a de-fib
these are the sorry facts

[BigClive]

Given the price of a defib unit, you could buy one for every crew in Scotland for a fraction of a single claim. We're talking well less than a grand now.

Of course, this being Britain, they cost twice as much here as in America.

[Cheezer]

I know this is an old post but I have to add my two cents. Our company finally got one de-fib in each service center. They had an order in to get one for each floor of each service center, but the legal department chirped up saying the legal ramifications are too great! Some clown in one service center sent an e-mail saying he was a do-not-resucitate. One guy who doesn't want to live, screws the rest of us who do! As far as getting them in the trucks-it'll never happen. Our union proposed paying half the cost for however many devices the company would purchase but they balked at that. As someone said-it's cheaper to pay out a little compensation once in awhile-goes on a different budget.

[Lnhnd13]

AEP is supposed to be getting them in the trucks. We'll see.

[BigClive]

There's going to be an avalanche effect at some point and all companies will start issuing them.

As far as the law goes... A defibrillator will not attempt to restart the heart unless it is in a state of fibrillation. At that point the person is technically dead. At that point you can only make things better.

As far as the "do not resuscitate" wanker goes... Just make sure there's a big sign next to the defib that says "DO NOT USE ON JOE WANKER." or whatever his name is.

All defibrillators should come with the words "Do not use on lawyers!" printed on their lid.

Is it time for a defib/AED recap yet?