Town defibrillator is high street first (From Ledbury Reporter)

Town defibrillator is high street first

3:00pm Monday 18th March 2013 in News

THE public could help save lives with a public defibrillator in the High Street.

Ledbury Town Council is in talks with West Midlands Ambulance Service to locate the device close to the war memorial and the bus shelter, where it would be available for use 24-hours-a-day.

It would be the first outdoors defibrillator in the county, according to Chris Kowalik of West Midlands Ambulance Service.

Several town councillors, including Coun Martin Eager, expressed some reservations the electronic heart starter would be outdoors in a public place, and possibly open to misuse.

However, Coun Allen Conway, who has been liaising with the ambulance service, told councillors at a meeting in the Market House last week: “It would be inside a box. If you need it, you press a button or phone 999. They give you a code to get access to the box, otherwise, it is secured.”

Once a member of the public has opened the box, to use the defibrillator, an ambulance service contact can talk the person through live-saving procedures, and the machine would also give very clear instructions.

The cost ofthe defibrillator would be about £750, butitis being offered free of charge to the town.

Coun Conway said one condition was the public defibrillator box would need to be visible to the town’s CCTV cameras.

The town already has defibrillators in locations including the community hospital and the swimming pool, and there is a pool of trained volunteers.

But Coun Conway explained: “There is no defibrillator available in Ledbury after 10pm.”

Councillors voted to support the idea of a boxed defibrillator in a public place,to extend the cover.

Mr Kowalik said public access defibrillators were increasingly common on UK streets.

He said: “We will also provide free training for the community, and annual refresher training.”