M-Pact installs a defibrillator to safeguard employees and the local community

Edinburgh building services specialist M-Pact Group has once again led the way in community as well as workplace health and safety by installing a defibrillator at its head office in Loanhead, Midlothian.

As well as helping protect the wellbeing of its 65 staff, the award-winning company is also benefiting the population of the surrounding area by registering it with both The Community Heartbeat Trust and the local ambulance service as part of plans for a National Defibrillator Network (NDN).

The life-saving machine is one of only four within a 10km radius of M-Pact’s facility and there are no machines registered at all in the nearby communities of Bilston, Straiton, Loanhead, Polton or Lasswade.

Martin Robertson, Health and Safety Manager at M-Pact, explained that working with electricity is always potentially dangerous and defibrillators are a powerful tool in dealing with Sudden Cardiac Arrest. It is estimated that there are 60,000 Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrests every year in the UK.

He said: “The decision to install such a vital piece of equipment is in line with the duty of care which we owe to our employees and the importance which we attach to their physical and mental wellbeing. Without immediate treatment, almost all Sudden Cardiac Arrest victims will die. If a defibrillator is used and effective CPR is performed within three to five minutes of cardiac arrest, their chance of survival increases significantly. During office hours, the machine will be available to the local community through the NDN scheme, and our message to other companies in the area is that they should consider following suit and look at modern health issues and risk factors. It could save a life.”

M-Pact has also involved four key staff in the British Red Cross Defibrillator Training Course, which includes CPR training, and it has uploaded the location of the machine to the Scottish Ambulance Service and HeartSafe websites.

As part of its commitment to employee wellbeing, the company also recently invested several thousands of pounds to ensure that its workforce enjoys the highest possible standards of respiratory protection when operating in conditions which require fitted face masks.

M-Pact, which has a strong corporate social responsibility agenda, employs 65 people, including electricians, plumbers, carpenters and joiners as well as a large proportion of apprentices.

For more information about M-Pact Please visit their website.