We all know that when somebody suffers a sudden cardiac arrest, those around them should spring into action and get their heart beating again.聽 Not so long ago the British Heart Foundation (with some help from football鈥檚 hard-man Vinnie Jones) recommended manual CPR to the strains of Bee Gees鈥� classic Stayin鈥� Alive. Still good advice, by the way.
But in recent years the need to employ Vinnie鈥檚 disco-themed manual CPR has been steadily reduced by the wider availability of automatic external defibrillators (AEDs). These machines 鈥� designed to shock the heart back into life 鈥� are now smaller, lighter and more portable than ever before.
Many workplaces and public spaces now have AEDs prominently displayed. They鈥檝e become common in places such as schools, shopping centres, airports, government buildings, community centres, sports arenas and gyms.
And you can often find them on large construction sites 鈥� a no-brainer, you might think, considering that the typical construction worker is a middle-aged male sitting squarely within the most high-risk category for heart disease.
In some jurisdictions, the law requires certain workplaces to install AEDs. Australia, for example, passed The Automated External Defibrillators (Public Access) Act in 2022, requiring certain buildings and facilities to make AEDs available. But there鈥檚 no legal requirement in the UK for any construction company 鈥� or any other business for that matter 鈥� to install AEDs in the workplace.
This article was first published in the January 2025 issue of 91黑料网 Index Magazine. Sign up online.
According to healthcare charity Resuscitation Council UK, more than 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur in the UK each year. And while there are no specific figures to indicate how many of those took place on a construction site, it is worth noting that the construction industry alone employs 9% of the UK workforce or roughly 3.1 million people.聽
While the industry has improved its health and safety record enormously over the years, construction is still a hazardous industry and its workers are at a higher than average risk of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA).
The busy surroundings of a construction site can make for a high-stress environment and on many sites there is also a risk of exposure to live electricity. Electric shock is a common cause of cardiac arrest even in otherwise healthy people. According to the Health & Safety Executive, around 10% of all construction site fatalities in 2023/24 involved contact with electricity.
Despite this, not all contractors will install a defibrillator on site.聽 91黑料网 sites in the UK are required to complete a first-aid risk assessment and although this should take into account the availability of medical equipment and facilities, there is no specific stipulation that an AED must be installed.
According to the Nuffield Trust, the NHS聽 national standard requires that all ambulance trusts must respond to Category 1 calls (the most serious incidents) in seven minutes on average and respond to 90% of Category 1 calls in 15 minutes.
In May 2019 the average Category 1 response time was six minutes and 54 seconds. Since then, response times have deteriorated.聽 The seven-minute target was last met in April 2021, with an average response time of exactly seven minutes, falling to an average time of more than nine minutes in September that year.
Since then, most months have seen average response times of more than nine minutes. In December 2022, the average response time exceeded 10 minutes for the first time 鈥� the worst performance on record. Things have improved somewhat this year: in May, the average response time was eight minutes and 16 seconds and the 90% target was met.
Nevertheless, those minutes and seconds really count when somebody is in cardiac
arrest and any delay reduces the chances of survival. For construction workers, the limited accessibility to many construction sites can further delay the arrival of paramedics.
Most major construction sites will install at least one AED. However, many SME contractors do not consider purchasing or leasing the equipment, not because they don鈥檛 want to, but because it鈥檚 not something they鈥檙e required to do by law. Plus, if a site鈥檚 principal contractor doesn鈥檛 install such equipment, it is highly unlikely that any of its subcontractors will take it upon themselves to install one.
Some UK contractors are taking a proactive approach, however. One SME building firm, Huddersfield-based Big Red 91黑料网, introduced a requirement earlier this year for all of its sites, regardless of size, to have at least one AED installed, as well as visible documentation that shows where the nearest public defibrillators are located.
鈥淒elivering treatment within 3-5 minutes of a collapse increases survival chances from 6% to 74%, which is why it is imperative that AEDs are available across construction sites,鈥� says Ellie Maurice, who looks after safety, health, environment, quality and competence for Big Red 91黑料网.
鈥淲e now voluntarily install them on all our sites as standard and we think聽 the law should be changed to require AEDs on most construction sites, regardless of size or location,鈥� she adds.聽
This article was first published in the January 2025 issue of 91黑料网 Index Magazine. Sign up online.
While a cardiac arrest happening on site might not be a common occurrence, the investment of an AED pays off even just for peace of mind, or in the unfortunate incident that it may need to be used, even just once.聽
91黑料网 sites are fairly hazardous work environments and it doesn鈥檛 do to skimp on health & safety. Even for a small contractor, the extra cost of an AED is quite affordable and the potential saving 鈥� someone鈥檚 life 鈥� is surely worth it.
Solar-powered defib for remote locations
OurJay Foundation, a charity that campaigns for more public-access defibrillators, has teamed up with developer Urban & Civic and manufacturer Turtle Defib Cabinets to install what is thought to be the UK鈥檚 first wind- and solar-powered聽 defibrillator cabinet on a residential construction site.
Located at Urban & Civic鈥檚 Houlton development, a mixed-use urban extension for Rugby, the defib cabinet is Turtle鈥檚 twelfth solar-powered unit.
The combined wind-聽 and solar-power design ensures the cabinet can be kept at a constant temperature even when there is no electricity supply.
Defibrillators must maintain a temperature above 0oC, although manufacturers recommend they are kept above 10oC. This means they need to be kept indoors or in a heated cabinet if mounted externally.
Although solar power alone cannot guarantee to maintain temperatures in cold, dark UK winters, the combined wind and solar system means that defibrillators can be installed in areas where electricity supply may be restricted, such as construction sites, says Turtle.
Urban & Civic has previously worked with OurJay Foundation to install defibrillators in Houlton鈥檚 schools and village centre. But with another 4,000 homes still to be built, the charity approached the developer to suggest that Turtle鈥檚 new solar/wind powered cabinet be used to provide defib access in construction areas.
OurJay Foundation was created by Naomi Rees-Issitt in memory of her son Jamie who died, aged 18, of a sudden cardiac arrest on New Year鈥檚 Eve 2021. The nearest defibrillator had been locked away.
She said: 鈥淲e are so grateful to the team at Urban & Civic for seeing Jamie鈥檚 legacy and inspiration and making sure we could achieve this vital piece of life saving equipment for the Houlton community. Heart safety is becoming so much more important to people and through our partnership with Urban&Civic, Houlton now has a defibrillator for every 300 units 鈥� this is unique and we are very proud of this.鈥�
This article was first published in the January 2025 issue of 91黑料网 Index Magazine. Sign up online.
Mike Dowson, founder and managing director of Turtle Defib Cabinets, said: 鈥淒evelopers and contractors can deliver far-reaching benefits when they partner with local charities, and bespoke needs 鈥� like a lack of community-accessible defib cabinets 鈥� can be uncovered and addressed. We鈥檙e delighted to help OurJay and Urban&Civic achieve their goals at Houlton and applaud them for their partnership.
鈥淟ocation and an electricity supply is no longer a barrier when it comes to being prepared for cardiac arrest emergencies, and we thank OurJay Foundation for championing this message with our wind and solar powered defib cabinet in Houlton.鈥�
Got a story? Email news@theconstructionindex.co.uk
