A network of life-saving defibrillators will be installed in more than 70 Council owned or operated premises after a consultation exercise with local people, organisations and partners overwhelmingly supported the plans.
The Council approved the installation of defibrillators at its meeting on Thursday 15 December and on Thursday 27 April heard the findings of the consultation which has led to further locations being added.
Schools, leisure centres, community centres and all four Community Hubs are amongst the list of venues where the vital equipment will be available.
The network will include a mix of internal and external installations to ensure 24/7 access in the heart of our communities. There are already some devices located in Council owned or operated facilities but now a further 77 properties will benefit from a defibrillator. By the end of the project, there will be a total of 83 devices in place which will all be managed centrally.
Council Leader Gordan Low said, “The consultation responses were overwhelmingly supportive of the proposed locations. We also received suggestions of other venues where we should fit the life-saving equipment, and we’re very pleased to be able to add more devices to our list. This will result in more than 70 defibrillators being installed over the next few months across East Dunbartonshire – a significant increase on our initial proposals.
The evidence is clear that when defibrillators are available in emergency situations they can be life-saving, so it’s great news that we’ll be able to install so many throughout the area and in a variety of buildings.
Local community groups and former pupils in the area have also fundraised to buy defibrillators for specific areas in recent times, and their efforts were also recognised by Council.
Councillor Gordan Low added, “The provision of defibrillators in East Dunbartonshire is a joint effort between community groups, businesses, individuals, and the Council. The fundraising of local people including current and former pupils to provide a defibrillator for community buildings and schools has been really impressive and we will be reaching out to those individuals when the devices are ready to be installed to ensure we are working together to ensure the most effective outcome.”
All new and existing publicly accessible defibrillators in this initiative will be registered with the National Defibrillator Network – ‘The Circuit’ – provided by the British Heart Foundation. All defibrillators registered on The Circuit are visible to NHS ambulance services, who can direct callers to the nearest location and help save lives.
