THE majority of private gyms in the North-East are not equipped with life-saving heart-start machines, an investigation by The Northern Echo reveals today.

However, the chance of surviving a heart attack at a council-run leisure centre or gym is dramatically improved – because they possess both defibrillators and the staff trained to use them.

Our survey of 52 public and private gyms and leisure centres with gyms in Darlington, County Durham, North Yorkshire and Teesside found that while 29 gyms (55 per cent) do have heart-start machines, 23 gyms (44 per cent) do not.

All councils contacted said their leisure centres possessed defibrillators – which can mean the difference between life and death if used within minutes of a heart attack. However, we discovered that 80 per cent of private gyms do not have defibrillators.

That is why The Northern Echo today launches a campaign to promote the benefits of defibrillators, increase the number of machines in public places, and encourage private gym owners to invest in them. It is an extension of our original Chance To Live campaign, launched 12 years ago and acknowledged to have played a part in persuading the then Labour government to invest more than £700m in upgrading heart surgery services in England.

Within a few years this led to a dramatic reduction in the length of time patients had to wait for a bypass operation, from 18 months to only three.

Automatic defibrillators, which deliver an electric shock to restart the heart, cost about £1,000 and can be used by any adult who has had the appropriate training.

The British Heart Foundation (BHF), Britain’s largest heart charity, is pushing for more defibrillators to be installed in public buildings, places of entertainment and other premises used by large numbers of people.

The Northern Echo’s campaign was backed by Mike Brough, a 51-year-old fatherof-four, from Darlington, whose life was saved by the rapid use of a defibrillator when he collapsed after a fivea-side football match at the DolphinCentre, inDarlington.

The Northern Echo: Mike Brough
Survived: Mike Brough, who suffered a heart attack playing football at a council-run leisure centre

“Considering what happened to me, I strongly support this campaign. I am now looking to join a gym and I would like to be somewhere where they had the right facilities if I had a problem.”

Professor Jerry Murphy, a consultant cardiologist at Darlington Memorial Hospital, said: “I am entirely behind your campaign.

“This is something that needs to be addressed, particularly on premiseswhere people are taking exercise and playing sport.

“We need to have more investmentin equipment and in training staff so they know whatto do ifthere is an emergency.”

He added: “We all recognise the part The Northern Echo has played in helping tomove forward the cause of cardiology.

“The Echo’s Chance To Live campaign highlighted the national scandal of long waiting times and led to a huge investment in cardiology.”

DarlingtonMPJenny Chapman said: “We can see the results in the reduced death rates for heart disease. It is great to see The Northern Echo launching the Chance ToLive campaign. Really simple precautions, as straightforward as having defibrillators in gyms, can be the difference between saving a life and losing one.

“This campaign does a greatjob of encouraging us to do what we can, while we can, to protect our health and our hearts.”

The highest-profile private gyms not equipped with defibrillators is the Bannatyne chain, owned by Dragons’ Den star Duncan Bannatyne.

Ironically, Mr Bannatyne hit the national headlines recently after he was rushed to hospital with a heart scare after collapsing at his Darlington base.

However, the 63-year-old’s chest pains were later attributed to stress and not connected to his fitness.

A spokesman for the Bannatyne group said: “We do not have defibrillators in our health clubs. They are a specialist piece ofmedical equipment, which should only be operated by qualifiedmedical professionals.

“We have trained first aiders and effective first aid procedures, but the danger of defibrillators is that they could be used in error by nonmedical personnel.”

However, the BHF said defibrillators can be used safely even by untrained lay people who witness a heart attack or who are nearby and can respond more quickly than the ambulance service.

Mubeen Bhutta, the foundation’s policymanager, said: “When it comes to defibrillators the message is very simple – they save lives.

“If somebody has a cardiac arrest, for every minute that passes without defibrillation their chance of survival decreases by aboutten per cent.

“Any campaign that helps put defibrillators into the places where they’re needed the most should be welcomed.”

  • The Northern Echo has invested in its own defibrillator as part of the campaign