Carey Olsen charity initiative enables islanders to save lives
DOZENS more islanders are now trained to be lifesavers thanks to an initiative by law firm Carey Olsen.
The firm purchased vital training equipment for the Guernsey Cardiac Action Group to help the charity’s community resuscitation development officer host free training sessions.
More than 30 local businesses and organisations have taken part since the start of the year – including more than 40 Carey Olsen staff, completing defibrillator and CPR familiarisation training.
‘Without Carey Olsen’s support, which allowed us to buy the necessary training equipment, we would not have been in a position to host the free training sessions we have done across Guernsey,’ said community resuscitation development officer Mike Froome.
‘Every person trained is another person who is now equipped with the knowledge and skills required to respond to cardiac arrest with CPR and, if possible, defibrillation. It’s important to remember that every minute without CPR and defibrillation dramatically decreases a person’s chance of survival by around 10%.’
Carey Olsen senior associate Adrian Sarchet, who chairs the firm’s Guernsey charities committee, said: ‘We’ve always taken a proactive role in supporting our nominated charities, but to also have the opportunity to learn directly from the Guernsey Cardiac Action Group about what to do if we were to witness a cardiac arrest is something I know all of us have really valued.’
There are currently 35 public access defibrillators in Guernsey, four in Alderney and two in Herm. Carey Olsen has its own defibrillator located within its offices along Les Banques, which is also available for use by the public.
Alongside the Guernsey Cardiac Action Group, Carey Olsen staff have also chosen to support the Guernsey Child Contact Centre LBG with various fundraising events over a two-year period up to June 2019.
