Public defibrillators
Lugano is leading the way in rescuing victims of cardiac arrest and was the first Swiss municipality to equip itself with a public defibrillator station. Close collaboration with the Ticino Cuore Foundation makes it possible to benefit from a network of defibrillators across the territory, which is a crucial element in rapid response to cardiac arrest. It is important to consider that with each passing minute, a patient's chances of survival decrease by 10%, leaving no more than 10 minutes to act.
If a person suffers a cardiac arrest and loses consciousness, is not breathing or their breathing is abnormal (only gasping), the following action should be taken:
- call 144, a free number of the Ticino Soccorso emergency service, and answer the following questions:
- where is the emergency
- from which phone number you are calling
- what is the problem, explain what happened
- gender and (approximate) age of the patient
- is the patient conscious?
- is the patient breathing?
- begin cardiac massage: press hard and fast
- get a defibrillator: check rhythm and deliver discharge if indicated; repeat every two minutes
Courses
Courses in resuscitation and defibrillator use (BLS-DAE) enable any person to:
- recognize a cardiac arrest situation
- correctly alert the emergency services
- practice external cardiac massage
- use the semiautomatic defibrillator device
The courses are organized by:
The First Responder network consists of a collection of people and/or institutions (police, firefighters, border guards, samaritans, etc.) who voluntarily give their willingness to be called by the Ticino Soccorso 144 emergency service for cardiac arrest situations.
The First Responder network model is based on three principles:
- randomness: the fact of being "accidentally" in the vicinity of the incident
- voluntariness: free decision of the First Responder to follow up or not to follow up on the alarm received
- spontaneous help
In case of cardiac arrest, the Ticino Soccorso 144 emergency service activates the First Responder network by indicating the location of the intervention and the minutes needed for the ambulance to arrive on the scene. If a First Responder can reach the patient in less time, they respond to the call by activating immediately.
To be part of the First Responder network you must:
- be 18 years old
- hold a valid resuscitation and defibrillation certificate, recognized by the major international scientific societies (ERC/AHA) and/or the national institution in charge (SRC for Switzerland)
- accept the contractual conditions of the First Responder regulations
- have a smartphone
- it is not mandatory to have a defibrillator device
The Ticino Cuore smartphone App is designed to provide an information tool and to manage alerts in case of sudden cardiac arrest in the territory. It allows to manage and coordinate the network of First Responders in Ticino and Moesano.
With the Ticino Cuore App, it is possible to:
- register as a new First Responder
- receive cardiac arrest alerts
- carry out intervention while waiting for first responders
- locate public defibrillators
- monitor the rhythm of cardiac massage
- alert emergency services with geolocation of your location
The English version of this page was created with the aid of automatic translation tools and may contain errors and omissions.
The original version is the page in Italian.