In the event of a sudden cardiac event every second that goes by is crucial in saving a person’s life.

Adding to speedy medical response in such an emergency North West Premier Lazarus Kagiso Mokgosi together with the province’s MEC for Health, Sello Lehari, received a donation of six Fully Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs). The handover took place at Mahikeng Provincial Hospital on Friday (18 September).

The private company, Comen Medical, behind this donation also recently donated AEDs to the Gauteng province.

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In a statement Mokgosi says the donation forms part of efforts to strengthen the province’s emergency response capacity and improve access to life-saving equipment in public health facilities.

“The AEDs will be allocated to selected hospitals to support the rapid management of patients experiencing sudden cardiac arrest, where every second can be critical to survival.”

According to Mokgosi the donation represents an important contribution towards strengthening emergency care. It also ensures that health professionals have access to appropriate equipment when responding to time-critical cardiac emergencies.

“The equipment is designed to reduce delays during a cardiac emergency, with indications that the device can become operational in under two seconds after the lid is opened, while rhythm analysis and charging occur rapidly to facilitate timely defibrillation.”

North West residents health requests

Earlier in May public hearings on health and economic development took place as part of the National Council of Province’s Taking Parliament to the People programme.
At the programme, which took place over the course of a few days, residents shared their unhappiness around health clinic operating hours. They proposed that operating hours for clinics change to 24 hours a day.

Lehari responded to these requests by saying: “The plan and wish of the government is to have all the clinics operate for 24 hours, but our challenge is budget. If you were to put them all at once, it is going to double the current costs, which we cannot afford. That is why we are doing it gradually; some are already on 24/7”