City West Beats

Look out for the City West Beats logo on City West offices, vehicles & uniforms to identify trained personnel and where the defibrillators are located.

What is City West Beats?

City West Beats is the name given to the partnership between City West and the North West Ambulance Service to train personnel as a First Responder to respond to life threatening cardiac arrests and to provide access to defibrillators, in the areas City West work in across West Salford. Defibrillator kits are located in our four local area offices in Swinton, Irlam, Eccles and Little Hulton, at our head office at Centenary House and at our City West Works Operational Centre both in Eccles. Mobile kits are also located onboard 12 of our repair vans that spend their days out and about in the community.
When someone has a cardiac arrest they lose consciousness at once and there are no signs of life. Defibrillators can sometimes be used to give an electric shock through the chest wall and restore a normal heartbeat.
No one knows who will suffer from cardiac arrest, but what is known is that help within the first few minutes improves the outcome for the patient. 

Who is it for?

Members of City West staff have volunteered for this training and they are there to respond to emergencies that arise in the West Salford area. They'll help victims in the most extreme emergency, including cardiac arrest and other life threatening medical emergencies.

Who is it run by?

The North West Ambulance Service with City West jointly co-ordinate the response of staff to emergencies and when City West members attend an emergency they are acting on behalf of the ambulance service as a First Responder. City West Beats launched on Monday 13th December 2010.

Who is trained to use a defibrillator?

Current Protocols dictate that anybody can use an automated external defibrillator without prior training. However, all City West Staff responders have undergone training in the safe use of these machines and procedures related to them.
Staff from across the organisation volunteered to take part in this project and have been trained by North West Ambulance Service to use the defibrillators. They've also gained skills in basic life support which will enable them to help in other life threatening medical emergencies.
Our employees will be responding to emergencies, co-ordinated by the North West Ambulance Service covering the West Salford area, the same footprint as City West currently operates in. Where responding on foot, from our local area offices, a 4 minute radius has been identified. Trained operatives working from a vehicle with a mobile kit will respond if they are identified as the nearest responder.
Staff attending to an emergency will be identified by an ID badge and high visibility jackets, when in attendance our employees are acting on behalf of North West Ambulance Service as a First Responder until the emergency ambulance arrives.