STILLER HAS SAFETY AT HEART
BY SARAH WALKER
Training day on NHS bus gives staff knowledge and confidence to use a defibrillator
When it comes to health and safety , Stiller Warehousing and Distribution prides itself on its forward-thinking approach .
One of the most instantly recognisable names on Aycliffe Business Park has the coveted gold award from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents ( RoSPA ), demonstrating that it leads the way when it comes to keeping its staff and the public safe .
So when health and safety manager Darren Holliday became aware of a state-of-theart NHS training bus MELISSA ( Mobile Educational Learning , Improving Simulation and Safety Activities ) during the pandemic , he came up with an idea that would not only put the organisation at the cutting edge of first aid training , but could potentially save lives out in the wider community .
Darren explained : “ We have three defibrillators within the business , and I noticed they were popping up in more and more locations .
“ I started thinking , ‘ has anybody actually used one or practised with one ?’
“ I had become aware of the NHS MELISSA double decker training bus , which has a big screen downstairs and a classroom for practical exercises upstairs and we came up with the idea of getting the bus on site and giving our staff the knowledge and confidence to use a defibrillator .”
Darren enlisted the help of Linda Jones , director and specialist nurse practitioner at Occupational Health and Training Services ( OHTS ), which is located at The Work Place on Aycliffe Business Park .
OHTS was able to borrow some practice
defibrillators from The Work Place , which offers a range of First Aid courses and carry out the specialist training day on the MELISSA bus within the Stiller site .
Matthew Stiller , the firm ’ s managing director , attended the training alongside other members of staff , demonstrating that the importance of health and safety goes all the way to the top .
The training was well-received and attended , despite the fact it was peak holiday season , and Darren is now looking forward to putting on similar training events in the years to come .
He added he would love to see the NHS MELISSA bus being promoted and dotted around other sites – especially as the NHS has launched a second similar training bus .
“ It ’ s a really good idea and the fact they came here free of charge with this mobile classroom is brilliant ,” he said .
Stiller ’ s on-site defibrillator is part of the local network of lifesaving devices and can be accessed by anyone who needs it in an emergency .
“ We see the importance of it and it would be great to have more defibrillators everywhere ,” Darren said .
“ If we can take an hour of someone ’ s day to promote and instil confidence in people to use defibrillators , it will pay dividends .”
Stephen Cooper , mobile education project manager at NHS England Education North East , said since 2019 , the MELISSA bus has been to more than 200 events across more than 40 organisations .
“ We are very proud to support this great initiative in collaboration with Stiller
Warehousing and Distribution and OHTS ,” he added .
“ There is a pressing need for more awareness across all sectors with understanding basic life saving techniques .
“ This event will go a long way in helping to address this problem and we hope that by offering use of the MELISSA bus , we can contribute to the cause .”
Linda Jones , director and specialist nurse practitioner ( occupational health ) of OHTS , added : “ Giving CPR ( cardiopulmonary resuscitation ) and using AEDs ( automated external defibrillators ) as soon as possible hugely improves the likelihood of survival in a cardiac arrest and really is easy to do – the emergency services would talk you through it over the telephone .
“ However , attending sessions like this , which gives the opportunity to practice and have any questions answered will hopefully make people more confident and allow them to practice their technique .”
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