Defibrillator animation 'going about it the wrong way'
Mark King from the Oliver King Foundation says it doesn't show 'the proper side of the training'
The father of a Liverpool boy who died after suffering a cardiac arrest says a new cartoon animation on how to use a defibrillator is 'going about it the wrong way.'
It has been created by Resuscitation Council UK with the aim of giving people the confidence to use the life-saving device when needed.
The Oliver King Foundation successfully campaigned to install defibrillators in all England state schools and is working to get more in public places across the country.
The charity does not deliver these life-saving devices, though, without face-to-face training.
Mark King said:
"We saved a child's life - A 10 year old.
They got the defib when the child got into difficulty in the playground, but they weren't trained. But they need basic CPR and they were confident enough to get the defib off the wall and use it to save their life. So they started CPR, but it came up as 'unshockable rhythm' so they thought that child had passed away. Then at that point, a person that we trained came onto the playground and said no, carry on with your CPR till you get a shockable rhythm.
That is the worry. I don't think that the cartoon will go into depth of eventualities when you're using a defib. So as I do agree with a lot more people getting trained and a lot more people being aware of what the defibs doing, I think they're (Resuscitation Council) going about it the wrong way.
"When we're training the people that we're supplying the defibs to - they get on the floor, they go through the CPR, they work in teams so they can put the pads on the right way round, stand back listening to the patient, get an analysed shock delivered, carry on with your CPR if your patient hasn't come round.
"There's a lot more intricacy with it."