Debate contribution: Defibrillators in Schools: Funding

Debate contribution by Mr Paul Givan on 25 November 2024.

MLA

Mr Paul Givan

Party at the time

Democratic Unionist Party

Date

25 November 2024

Type

Debate contribution (made as a minister)

Business

Ministerial Statement

Heading

Defibrillators in Schools: Funding

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4674554

Read the official Assembly record

Text

If the issue is at my end, I apologise. I am not sure whether the issue lies with the Department or the Assembly, but I am sure that your investigation will get to the bottom of it, Mr Speaker. I am proud to announce a significant new initiative to fund and roll out defibrillators to all schools in Northern Ireland. The initiative is crucial for the safety and well-being of our society. The importance of having defibrillators in schools cannot be overstated. It will help to protect the lives of our young people, school staff and visitors. The initiative is designed to address the risk of sudden cardiac arrest. Sudden cardiac arrest can happen to anyone without warning. Whilst we know that it is more likely to occur in adults and older people, the heartbreaking reality is that young people are at risk too. An automated external defibrillator (AED) saves lives by restoring the normal heart rhythm. Studies show that when a defibrillator is used within the first few minutes of a cardiac arrest, the chance of survival increases significantly. In fact, when CPR and defibrillation are provided promptly, survival rates can increase by as much as 70%. AEDs are cost-efficient, safe and easy to use, and they do not require specialist training. Having AEDs available in all schools will, quite simply, save lives. That is why I am investing over £700,000 of the funding from my new curriculum-led programme in the purchase and installation of defibrillators in all our schools, making sure that every school, from nursery to post-primary level, is equipped with that live-saving technology. Over 600 schools still require defibrillators. A significant number of schools have already invested in defibrillators themselves. I assure those schools that my Department will fund the batteries and pads that are needed for the ongoing maintenance of their equipment. We will also fund replacement defibrillators for those schools when their current equipment needs to be changed. As we roll out the initiative, I urge every school to embrace this opportunity to enhance safety on their site. Let me be clear: we cannot predict when a medical emergency will occur, but we can ensure that we are prepared. The initiative is not just about providing equipment; it is about building a culture of preparedness that complements our work in the school curriculum on CPR and awareness of defibrillators. CPR and awareness of the use of defibrillators have been mandatory elements of the school curriculum since 2022. To support the delivery of those elements of the curriculum, my Department has developed the community of lifesavers education programme in partnership with the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA), the Education Authority (EA) and the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service. That programme provides professional learning for teachers and resources and training equipment for schools. Over 500 teachers have been trained under that programme. In recent weeks, I also launched an interactive phone app that aims to build children and young people's confidence in developing vital CPR skills. By raising awareness of the importance of defibrillators, we aim to make cardiac emergency an issue that schools are actively prepared to address. Having defibrillators in every school will provide a lifeline during moments of uncertainty, and I hope that knowing that help is close at hand will give our pupils, teachers and parents peace of mind. Today's investment is not just in schools: I hope that it will have a broader impact by providing vital equipment to our wider society. It is about building stronger and healthier communities. The defibrillators will protect visitors to schools, including local communities that use school facilities.

We will be working closely with the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service as we roll out the initiative, and I thank it for its support and advice.

All school defibrillators will be registered with the Circuit, the national defibrillator network, which provides NHS ambulance services with vital information about the location of defibrillators across the United Kingdom so that they can be accessed quickly to help save lives. In that way, school AEDs will become part of the community's emergency response infrastructure. I am delighted to announce this life-saving investment. Together, we can create a future in which no life is lost simply because help did not arrive in time. All schools in Northern Ireland will have access to that vital, life-saving equipment by the end of the current academic year. The importance of defibrillators in schools cannot be overstated. They are life-saving instruments that can give children, staff and visitors the chance to survive a sudden cardiac arrest and continue to live a healthy, active life. Creating safer and healthier environments for our pupils is a top priority. We must prepare for the unexpected. Our schools must be equipped to respond to emergencies swiftly and effectively, because, when it comes to lives, every second counts. The funding will undoubtedly save lives. I am proud that we are taking this important step for the health and safety of our society.

I thank the Member for her kind remarks, which are appreciated. All Members will welcome the announcement, but it is made in recognition of the importance of providing such support in our school settings. The Member is right to raise that issue. We carried out a survey, to which schools responded. A number of them already have an AED, and some of them have more than one, given the size of the school. We want to make sure that there is at least one in every school. Some schools have already invested in more than one AED because of the nature of the campus. My announcement is about ensuring that every school has at least one device, but the Member's comments are well made, given the size of some campuses. Should there be more provided? I want to make sure that all schools at least have one.

I thank the Chairman for his comments. He is right to highlight the question of what price we put on somebody's life. Today's announcement is about intervening as early as possible so that we can sustain life, enabling the patient to make a full recovery. In circumstances in which that intervention cannot be made, it can take longer to resuscitate, which can have far-reaching medical consequences that reduce a person's quality of life. It can also require significant investment by the health service in providing the individual with lifelong support. We are therefore very much taking forward an invest-to-save project. AEDs are designed to make sure that they can be used without training. I have been in a number of schools and taken part in the resuscitation programme. The device is capable of making people alert to whether a shock should be applied to the heart or whether they need to continue with CPR, so it can be used in the absence of formal training. In schools, resuscitation is part of the curriculum. Our schools are teaching young people how they can obtain the necessary skills. Many years ago, when I was at high school, I completed my St John Ambulance certificate in CPR training. That training still takes place. We have invested in a new app for CPR training. The roll-out of the defibs will raise awareness to higher levels, and their promotion in school settings will help CPR training to be prioritised.

I thank the Member for his support for the project that we are taking forward. He is right to raise the capital pressures that exist in my Department and others. In advance of getting near the end of the financial year, I have already been saying to my Department, "Let's make sure that we're in a position where we can spend capital funding". As you approach four months to go, it is difficult to stand up new contractors to carry out electrical or building work. The ability of the private sector to respond to that kind of capital work makes it difficult to spend funding on other capital projects. However, we are able to use capital funding for devices such as these. Health's finances are very stretched, so the initiative will be 100% funded by my Department. In conjunction with the work that we do with St John Ambulance, it will have a clear health benefit, but it also ties in with the curriculum. The basis on which I have been able to bring forward the initiative is that it is a curriculum-led capital programme. CPR is part of our curriculum, so it meets that criterion. It also has the wider benefit of positive health impacts.

I thank the Member for those comments. He is right to raise the point about where they will be located. That is why we want every defib to be registered on the national network, the Circuit. Defibs in some locations have not been officially registered. If a defib is not on the national register, whenever you ring 999 and seek advice as to where the nearest defib is, the people at the end of the call will not be able to tell you, "It's at your local community centre", or, "It's at your school". That is why it is important that the devices be registered: it will help with accessibility. Many schools have all of the security and fencing around them, but some do not. We will see whether the devices can be located on the external part of a school building so that they can be accessed by the community. Not every school will be able to do that because of fencing and the nature of the school's environment, but, where a school is open outside of school hours, I would very much like it if someone, responding to an incident in the wider community, were able to be directed to an accessible device on the external-facing part of a school building. As we roll out the project, we will seek to facilitate as much opportunity as possible for the community to avail itself of the devices.

To be fair, that was more of a comment than a question.

I did not hear a question.

I acknowledge the Member's support. It is a life-saving device. We in Northern Ireland should be proud of it, because it was Professor Frank Pantridge, a native of my constituency, who invented the technology that brought about the first defib. His statue is proudly on display outside Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council's headquarters. It is an important device, and I am delighted that we are able to extend its roll-out across Northern Ireland.

The Member is right to ask that question. In installing the devices, we will also undertake to meet the costs when batteries and pads need to be replaced, because those component parts require replacement before the device needs to be replaced. We will provide the support that is needed for the ongoing maintenance of the devices when they are installed.

I thank the Member for that question. We surveyed schools to find out the number that currently have the devices. Two hundred and ninety-seven schools have installed them already, which recognises their importance and the need for them that exists. For schools that have a device, we will undertake, as part of the roll-out, to replace their devices when their life cycle requires it or, indeed, the batteries and pads, which need to be maintained. Those 297 schools responded to the survey to say that they already had a device. Having a device in school is why Oliver McGreevy's life was saved at the age of 14 when he was playing rugby at Methodist College. Only a number of weeks ago, I met Oliver when we launched the CPR training. He spoke to me about how he may not have been here, had that device not been available and had the people who were on the rugby pitch not known where to go to get it. Thankfully, Methody had one of the devices. Oliver is now back playing his sport. The recovery process that he has gone through has enabled have a very active life. He got the support that was needed at the time to save his life, and, because the device was applied to him, that enabled a much better recovery. When you meet people like Oliver — I also spoke to his father — you understand that that is life-changing. He may not have been here but is here because there was a defib in his school. I want to make sure that every school has such a device so that, if that happens again in other school, that pupil will get the same opportunity to have their life saved.

We carried out the survey to identify which schools have the devices and which do not, but not every school responded. We estimate that around 600 schools in Northern Ireland require the devices to be placed in them. All schools are able to avail themselves of the measure. We want this to be rolled out. Obviously, the Education Authority will now take forward the procurement exercise. That will be done in engagement with schools to ensure that those that need a device are able to receive one.

The Member is absolutely right. Those unregistered defibs now exist in a number of areas, but we need to know where they are.

I run or try to run around Wallace Park in Lisburn, and I know that there is a defibrillator there because the council put it in and registered it. We need to make sure that they are accessible.

It speaks to the wider community response and the need for greater awareness. We all can tell stories of someone who had a cardiac arrest in whatever situation. There might be nervousness about how to respond and what to do. The benefit of defibrillators is that you do not need training. It is a challenge to all of us. When was the last time we updated our community resuscitation strategy? We have many community responders and community groups that have taken on the community responder role. That supplements the Ambulance Service in how it responds. All of us should ask ourselves, "If someone was with me right now and had a cardiac arrest, what would I do?". If you do not know the answer, that is a challenge: get yourself prepared. Where is the nearest AED? Have you been trained in CPR? CPR is critical if we are to make sure that we can try to save lives when a cardiac arrest happens.

Yes, I pay tribute to them. In all our constituencies, community groups engaged in fundraising to provide the devices. Often, a family member has lost a loved one or a friend loses somebody close to them, and they then get actively involved. Why did this become a priority for me? Why did I want it to happen? It was through some of the engagement that I had with young people who spoke to me about friends who had a cardiac arrest and, on one occasion, lost their life. That lady is now actively involved in promoting CPR and creating awareness. I thank all those who raise funds and create awareness for what they do. We, as a Government, have to enable our communities to respond. This will be a good enabler of that. The Education Authority will now carry out the procurement process. This is very much on track to be delivered so that every school will receive its device before the end of the academic year. By June 2025, it will be rolled out in every school. That will also keep us in line with, for example, England, where every school received a defibrillator in 2023. They recognised the importance of it, and I am glad that we have been able to do it as well.

Yes, it is available. CCEA produced and developed the app. It helps to align the initiative with the curriculum, because CPR is part of the curriculum. I was at Methody a number of weeks ago when we launched the CPR app. I was able to see how it works on mobile phone devices to provide training to young people, who were then able to put that into real-world practice while I was there. Yes, the app is available, and it will complement having the defibrillators in schools. I very much hope that, while CPR is in the curriculum, bringing defibrillators into schools will help to generate a higher priority for the delivery of that part of the curriculum in schools.

I thank the Member for those comments. She is absolutely right to highlight the fact that, particularly in those rural localities, often there is only the school in the area, and therefore access to the devices will be important.

Where we can, I would like to see defibs being available, but they have to be in an environment where there is a constant temperature, and it is about what kind of box you would use to make sure that that happens. Allow the process to see how many of the devices we can locate externally to schools. The Member asked about other jurisdictions. As I mentioned, in England, schools were provided with defibrillators in 2023. The Welsh Government offered defibs to all post-primary schools as well, but they have not been rolled by the Scottish Government or in the Republic of Ireland, where it remains a matter for individual schools. I am delighted that Northern Ireland has been able to do this. Not every other jurisdiction in the British Isles has taken it forward so far, but I very much hope that other countries will follow suit.

I thank the Member for his comments and for the work that he has pursued on the issue. Again, he is right to pay tribute to Diane Dodds on the issue: in recent weeks, she has been pressing me about it. Michelle McIlveen was also involved, but Diane Dodds, only a number of weeks ago, raised in the Assembly the importance of having defibs. She engaged with me on that as well. It is an issue that all of us very much care about and want to see implemented. I will come back to the Member about whether youth centres will be part of the scheme. I will follow up with the Member after the statement.

3,064 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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