THE APB OBTAINS INTERNATIONAL CARDIO-PROTECTED AREA CERTIFICATION

THE APB OBTAINS INTERNATIONAL CARDIO-PROTECTED AREA CERTIFICATION

Palma

06/08/2018

The Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) has obtained the official certification of international cardiac protected area from EFHRE International University and the Spanish Emergency Association 112 (AES in Spanish), joining other institutions and public bodies who have been awarded the European Cardiosafe Space certificate.

The APB has recently installed a total of 18 semi-automatic external defibrillators (SAED) at port facilities in order to cooperate in rescue tasks, and help prevent and control emergencies and first aid. They were first installed at the Port of Palma, followed by Alcudia and Mahon, and finally at the Port of Ibiza and La Savina.

The APB currently has eight defibrillators at the Port of Palma, two at the Port of Alcudia, three at the Port of Mahon, three at the Port of Ibiza and two at La Savina, located in harbour stations, offices and public-access areas. There are also six semi-automatic external defibrillators installed in APB vehicles.

This comprehensive cardio-protection service put out to tender by the APB was awarded to Caryosa Cardioprotección, which will be responsible for the preventive maintenance of the defibrillator equipment, as well as the management of real situations.

A cardio-protected space is equipped with the necessary mechanisms to attend to and help individuals during the first few minutes of a cardiac arrest. A SAED defibrillator is a piece of healthcare equipment used to monitor the heart rate that can identify life-threatening irregularities and deliver, with the help of a person, a dose of electric current that restores the heartbeat to a normal rhythm.

Automatic and semi-automatic external defibrillators are devices capable of administering a controlled electric shock or defibrillation to the heart to reverse ventricular fibrillation, sudden death or cardiorespiratory arrest, restoring the heart's normal function, i.e., a regular heartbeat. SAED defibrillators are designed for use by non-healthcare professionals, as is the case with APB staff.