Roscrea cardiac group saves lives

The Roscrea Cardiac Responder group has had 35 callouts since going live last March.
Among the nature of calls were cardiac arrest, stroke, angina and suicide. Members of the group addressed a recent meeting of Roscrea Community Development Council. They called on the local community to support an awareness week taking place between November 16th and 23rd.
The meeting heard that 85% of cardiac arrests take place in the home. The local responder group wants to instruct people on what to do in the event of a cardiac arrest. Its members have already visited local schools. The voluntary group operates 24/7 and is linked with the National Ambulance Service.
Roscrea Cardiac Responders will be holding a Christmas draw to raise money for essential equipment. It is also appealing for new volunteers to join.
RCDC Chairman John Lupton said it is clear that the new group has saved lives. He suggested organising a community meeting during the awareness week.
Wednesday night will feature speakers from the HSE and paramedics. Also speaking will be Cathal Joyce, a young footballer from Athlone, who collapsed on a pitch while playing a match only a few weeks ago. Cathal will talk about the importance of learning CPR and how he would like all sports clubs to learn CPR and have a defibrillator on their premises.