Business and health
Written by Chris Shephard - Business Parks Coordinator
, Monday, 18 February 2008
With Health high on the political agenda locally and nationally, its interesting to see how businesses are taking control of their own destinies, with help from the Local Area Agreements.
The Local Area Agreement (LAA) is a performance agreement between central and local government focused on local areas of need and it has specific Outcomes set to help improve the quality of life in deprived wards.
One of the specific projects to come out of Outcome 22 of the LAA is focused around the provision of defibrillators in a business environment, such as Riverside Industrial Estate in Littlehampton.
A defibrillator, for the uninitiated, is a clever piece of technology which emits an electric shock to a heart attack victim to shock the heart back in to rhythm. The idea is that the defibrillator can be used by a trained “first responder” before paramedics reach the scene, and therefore reduce the chance of death.
South East Business Magazine (October 2007) reports that “an Automatic External Defibrillator in the hands of a trained operation at the site of a sudden cardiac arrest can raise the chance of survival from 5% to more than 50%”.
It is hoped that by applying to the LAA funding programme, a number of defibrillators could be installed on Riverside Industrial Estate and staff can be trained to be “First Responders”.
Since the businesses formed themselves in to a non-profit making organisation, they have put themselves in an ideal position to take advantage of these sorts of projects as a collective, not just one business. And, at the recent Riverside Industrial Estate meeting four key businesses supported the initiative that was proposed by Colin Welburn of Littlehampton Welding.
Although the project is in its early stages, it is hoped that at its end, at least 4 employees based on Riverside Industrial Estate will receive the required training to become First Responders over the next few months. A number of defibrillators will also be purchased and installed on the industrial estate. An awareness campaign will then be undertaken to ensure all businesses are informed. A process will be followed with Arun District Council and the local Littlehampton 2020 partnership, to ensure the project is sound and sustainable.
This is another example of businesses working together, benefiting from working collectively. In this case it will benefit the employees who work on the Industrial Estate, and make their trading environment an even safer place to work.
One of the specific projects to come out of Outcome 22 of the LAA is focused around the provision of defibrillators in a business environment, such as Riverside Industrial Estate in Littlehampton.
A defibrillator, for the uninitiated, is a clever piece of technology which emits an electric shock to a heart attack victim to shock the heart back in to rhythm. The idea is that the defibrillator can be used by a trained “first responder” before paramedics reach the scene, and therefore reduce the chance of death.
South East Business Magazine (October 2007) reports that “an Automatic External Defibrillator in the hands of a trained operation at the site of a sudden cardiac arrest can raise the chance of survival from 5% to more than 50%”.
It is hoped that by applying to the LAA funding programme, a number of defibrillators could be installed on Riverside Industrial Estate and staff can be trained to be “First Responders”.
Since the businesses formed themselves in to a non-profit making organisation, they have put themselves in an ideal position to take advantage of these sorts of projects as a collective, not just one business. And, at the recent Riverside Industrial Estate meeting four key businesses supported the initiative that was proposed by Colin Welburn of Littlehampton Welding.
Although the project is in its early stages, it is hoped that at its end, at least 4 employees based on Riverside Industrial Estate will receive the required training to become First Responders over the next few months. A number of defibrillators will also be purchased and installed on the industrial estate. An awareness campaign will then be undertaken to ensure all businesses are informed. A process will be followed with Arun District Council and the local Littlehampton 2020 partnership, to ensure the project is sound and sustainable.
This is another example of businesses working together, benefiting from working collectively. In this case it will benefit the employees who work on the Industrial Estate, and make their trading environment an even safer place to work.
