Bank of Valletta has become the first bank to purchase a number of portable defibrillators to protect the lives of both its employees and customers.

The Bank has equipped its Head Office and a couple of branches with the latest Automated External Defibrillators (AED) which are built specifically for lay people to use.  Fewer than 5% of people survive a heart attack with Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) alone but these odds are improved tenfold to 50% with the prompt use of an AED and effective CPR.

Various staff members attended in-house comprehensive First Aid courses on how to deliver lifesaving first aid such as mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and chest compressions, as well as on the use of the AEDs.

"It's shockingly simple to restart a heart with an Automated External Defibrillator,” said Alexander Paul Miruzzi, Group Security Officer.  “Access to a defibrillator can dramatically increase the odds of survival," he added.