A heart defibrillator in Grotton has been brought back into use as the first community project for recently elected Councillor Alicia Marland.
The casing for the defibrillator at Lido House had been broken since before lockdown and the unit was being kept in the manager’s office, meaning it was unavailable to people outside office hours, which could have meant a critical delay in providing life-saving resuscitation.
Local Liberal Democrat Councillor Alicia Marland said: “I became aware of the problem while helping at the Band Contest in Grotton a few weeks ago. Looking around at how many people there were really brought home how crucial it was to make sure it was accessible for everyone, and available for the North West Ambulance Service to support people. If I were in that situation, I know those seconds would be critical in savings someone’s life.”
Councillor Marland used her Councillor budget – which she also used to contribute to the Band Contest – to purchase a new external defibrillator box and have it installed, making this vital medical equipment available for the local community.
She added: “If someone is unconscious as a result of a heart attack, it is vital the patient receives treatment within four minutes for a complete recovery.”
“When you call 999, the call handler will instruct the caller to begin CPR immediately – you will be told how – and to send someone else to bring a defibrillator. You will be asked for the postcode for your location and informed of the nearest publicly available defibrillator and the entry code for the defibrillator box would be given.
“However, if you are not automatically provided this information but you know where your nearest defibrillator machine is, you can ask the ambulance call handler for the code saying that it is within a short distance from your location.”
“I’ve also organised some first aid and defibrillator training for the band committee volunteers from a local resident who works for NWAS as First Responder which means we will be more prepared for future community events”.
There are publicly accessible defibrillator machines located at Lido House in Grotton, Springhead Community Centre on Ashes Lane and Lees Library Hub.