Alarmingly the current survival rate for sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is 7 per cent, because the emergency services do not reach patients in time, and the likelihood of successful resuscitation decreases by about 10 per cent with every minute that passes. One only had to witness the case of superfit footballer Fabrice Muamba to appreciate that SCAs can affect anyone – and without warning. During a stressful situation in a dental practice or while undergoing a surgical procedure, the risk can be even greater. Despite this it is believed that only 45 per cent of UK dental practices have an Automatic External Defibrillator.
From 2014 it is strongly recommended by the Resuscitation Council (UK) – backed by dental protection organisations - that Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) should be sited in every healthcare environment, including the dental practice. Failure to use one on a collapsed patient may result in a member of the dental team being challenged if it can be shown that a defibrillator could have influenced their outcome, or indeed, survival.
Joined up thinking
Philips is a diversified health and wellbeing company which is focused on improving people’s lives through meaningful technological innovation. Whilst most dental professionals will be familiar with its oral healthcare products - from Sonicare toothbrushes to Zoom tooth whitening - they may be less familiar with the fact that Philips is also a player in the medical equipment market with its provision of monitoring and scanning technology for hospitals – from MRI machines to defibrillators.
Its award winning HeartStart Defibrillators are now being made available directly to dental practices to enable anyone in the team to treat sudden cardiac arrest quickly and effectively as soon as it has occurred. The Philips’ HeartStart Defibrillator has been independently verified by experts as the easiest to set up and use, and the most reliable available. It uses clear, calm voice instructions to guide the user through each step of the defibrillation process, including CPR coaching. Integrated SMART pads which are simply placed on the patient’s bare skin adapt the defibrillator’s instructions to the users actions, conducting them calmly through the sequence they need to follow.
Because patient safety is imperative, many practices - particularly those which carry out surgery and offer sedation - are coupling these with Philips’ SureSigns vital signs monitoring equipment which allows dentists to track and measure patients’ reactions to medications and treatment.
Philips Oral Healthcare is joining forces with their Healthcare colleagues to encourage dental professionals to apply the same logic they use when buying Sonicare and Zoom - that where quality and accountability are of primary concern, and system failure is simply unfathomable, it is reassuring to use premium technology from a company with a track record as goods as Philips’.
Philips Healthcare is jointly exhibiting with Oral Healthcare at the BACD Conference November7-9th on stand 13 and has put together a special package comprising Defibrillator and Vital Signs monitoring technology. For more please visit www.philips.co.uk/healthcare or contact Radhika Darbari Telephone 01483 293 220/email IDS.Team@philips.com