NEWPORT Business Association (NBA) is running a defibrillator and life saving masterclass at the village’s fire station on Saturday.

Last year Newport became the first village in Essex to receive an AED (Automated External Defibrillator), installed by the village pharmacy and after the hard work of NBA members.

Fifteen members of the public qualified to use the unit; they can now operate the defibrillator and act as a community support to the front-line emergency services at potential incidents in and around Newport.

Since having the unit installed, the NBA has received numerous calls from people wanting to attend training.

Now it is running a masterclass on January 15 from 11am.

A defibrillator uses electricity to shock the heart out of this lethal rhythm and back to normal.

But Martin Render from the Community HeartBeat Trust – the largest voluntary provider of the defibrillators in the UK – will be on hand to demonstrate how easy it is to use.

He said: “It is important to remember that you cannot kill someone with a defibrillator.

“The AED automatically carries out many of the key stages of resuscitation, such as recognising the electrocardiogram rhythm (ECG). This assesses whether the heart is shockable.

“In 80 per cent of cases it will be. If cardiac arrest has not occurred or the rhythm is incompatible, a shock will not be administered.

“So sensitive are the machines that they assess how strong the shock needs to be.”

As many as 30,000 people suffer cardiac arrest away from a hospital each year, and their chances of survival are as high as 75 per cent should defibrillation be delivered rapidly.

The British Heart Foundation knows of at least 230 lives that have been saved already.

If you would like to attend the training, or your business would like to get employees trained, contact Jeremy Rose on 01799 541114 or e-mail nba.defib@c-lutions.co.uk