Busy Bees installs defibrillators in its nurseries
Tuesday, April 2, 2019
Busy Bees has installed 350 defibrillators in settings to safeguard children, staff and parents as part of Family Safety Week.
The nursery group has installed automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in 350 of its nurseries across the UK, which it says will benefit over 100,000 people.
The AEDs were supplied by Cardiac Science UK at a cost of £328,000.
The installations mean all Busy Bees’ 354 settings in England, Wales and Scotland are within minutes of an AED, boosting the survival chances of people who have an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.
First aid trainers from Busy Bees’ training arm BB Training will also complete a nationwide roadshow as part of Family Safety Week, which runs from 1-5 April 2019, visiting 43 Busy Bees nurseries to share lifesaving skills with staff and parents and raise awareness of CPR.
Shaun Ingram, managing director of Cardiac Science UK, said, ‘To our knowledge there has been no initiative on this scale in the childcare sector before.
‘Sadly, each year in the UK around 270 children pass away from a sudden cardiac arrest (SCR). That’s why this campaign by Busy Bees is so important and we hope this inspires schools, businesses and organisations to make the same commitment, so as a country we can strive to bring these numbers down.’
Head of compliance at Busy Bees Emily Brimson, who is leading the initiative, said, ‘Protecting and safeguarding all the children in our care is our top priority and that’s why we’ve undertaken this potentially lifesaving initiative. We see it as part of our commitment to best practice and to deliver outstanding care to all our children, as well as protecting staff, parents and visitors.
‘Although we hope that none of our defibrillators ever have to be used, it means that if the worst-case scenario happens, we are able to increase the survival chance of anyone who has a cardiac arrest in close proximity to our AEDs. What’s more, 999 operators are able to direct rescuers to these life-saving devices.
‘We hope that this investment will help raise awareness of the importance of AEDs and CPR, as well as inspire not just other nursery providers, but schools, businesses and organisations to make similar investments so as a country we can help to save more lives.’
Richard Macdonald, UK corporate business manager, Cardiac Science and Emily Brimson, head of compliance at Busy Bees
