Croí Heart & Stroke Charity, the Irish partner in HEARTSAFE 2.0, is joining Galway City Council, a HEARTSAFE Associate Partner, to host the EU consortium at City Hall. HEARTSAFE 2.0 brings together partners across Northwest Europe to improve survival by strengthening community response systems, connecting volunteers, AEDs and emergency services.
Croí is leading the Irish pilot for the recently funded Heartsafe 2.0 Interreg North-West Europe (NWE) project together with an international consortium from Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. The Heartsafe team aims to improve survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) by enabling faster and better coordinated emergency response.
Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is the third leading cause of death in Europe and despite strong healthcare systems, survival rates for Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA) vary widely, from over 45% in the Netherlands to a global average of 8%. In the West and Northwest of Ireland, there are additional challenges for rural communities spread over large geographic areas with under-developed networks of first responders and lack of strategically located AEDs. Survival depends on rapid CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) intervention within 6 minutes to prevent loss of life or long-term brain injuries.
Heartsafe 2.0 is a life-saving initiative for local communities by strengthening the numbers of volunteers trained as first responders and encouraging the provision of more defibrillators or AEDs (Automated External Defibrillators) in the West and North West. Associate partners in Ireland include Galway City Council, Sligo County Council and the National Ambulance Service and builds on the success of the initial pilot with Croí. Funded under Interreg’s Priority 5 Inclusive Society, Heartsafe 2.0 aims to ensure equal access to healthcare and resilient community networks.
From left to right: Mark O’Donnell, Cllr Helen Ogbu, John McShane, Paul Huguenin
Croí CEO Mark O’Donnell noted
‘Today marks a key milestone of the Heartsafe 2.0 project with Croí bringing together our EU and Irish partners here in Galway who will be crucial to the success of this project.
Every second counts in the event of sudden cardiac arrest. Our aim is to raise public awareness of the importance of CPR, strengthening networks of community first responders and helping to increase the availability of AEDs in your local area.’
‘Croí’s mission is to prevent heart disease and stroke, save lives, and empower local communities to take control of their health and wellbeing. Over the coming months, Croí will engage with communities in the pilot areas of Galway city and Sligo town and work with partner organisations on innovative strategies to build capacity’
Heartsafe Lead Partner Paul Huguenin from the Dutch Heart Foundation noted
‘It is an honour to meet the Mayor of Galway and to have the strong support of our Irish Heartsafe Partner Croí and Associate Partners Galway City Council, Sligo County Council and the National Ambulance Service for this vital project. In The Netherlands over many years, we have seen the importance of volunteers and local communities in saving lives. With Dutch Out of Hospital Sudden Cardiac survival rates of 45%, we want to share our proven approach and support communities in Ireland and our other pilot regions as part of the Heartsafe 2.0 Interreg cross border collaboration project.
‘Our aim is to build resilient Heartsafe communities, and we are delighted to work with Croí as our Irish partner to roll out Heartsafe in the West and North-West of Ireland.’
Mayor of Galway, Cllr Helen Ogbu greeted the project team stating
‘The Heartsafe consortium is welcome to Galway and I look forward to seeing the project progress in the time ahead and making Galway a Heartsafe city. Galway City Council’s participation in the Heartsafe project aligns closely with Galway’s membership in the WHO European Healthy Cities network, alongside the work of the Healthy Ireland committee and teams in the Council.’
John McShane, NAS Community Engagement Officer HSE West & North West noted
“As an Associate Partner, the National Ambulance Service (NAS) is delighted to be involved in the Heartsafe Project to achieve the common goal of improving survivability from out of hospital cardiac arrest. Our involvement will allow us to collaborate with and learn how other regions within Europe utilise emergency response systems to alert volunteers of an out of hospital cardiac arrest. This project also allows the NAS to share its own experience, with other European regions, on how our national network of Community First Responders are alerted and dispatched to life threatening emergencies here in Ireland. Through this collective sharing of knowledge, all partners and associate partners will be able to build upon and establish new systems and supports to out of hospital cardiac arrest.”