3 new public access defibrillators have been installed by Westerleigh Parish Council and Coalpit Heath. The AEDs have been registered with the local ambulance service and are available to the public 24/7.

The defibrillators were installed at Westerleigh Village Hall, the Miners Club (Coalpit Heath Village Hall) on Badminton Road and Henfield Hall on Ram Hill.

The funds have come from the money received by the Parish Council from the Blackberry Park development, and we hope they will really add to how a person in trouble can be helped alongside CPR while an ambulance is on the way.  Whoever dials 999 to ask for an ambulance tells them which defibrillator they are near and are given the code to get into it.  This is important for people attending events at these venues, playing sports nearby in one of the playing fields, or fishing at Bitterwell Lake next to Henfield Hall.

The Parish Council is also committed to running training events at each venue to give confidence in providing CPR or using the defibrillators as soon as practical.

Jamie Richards, Chief Executive Officer of Stone-based charity AEDdonate, said: “We are delighted that Westerleigh Parish Council and Coalpit Heath now have three brand new public access defibrillators installed in their parish. Congratulations to everyone involved for keeping their community safe in the event of a sudden cardiac arrest.”

AEDdonate covers the whole of the UK to raise awareness, knowledge and confidence in the safe use of defibrillators and CPR as well as fitting them within local communities.

To donate to the charity from home, visit https://www.aeddonate.org.uk/donate/  or to discuss fundraising for a community defibrillator in your local area, call 01785 472 224. The chance of survival after Sudden Cardiac Arrest decreases minute by minute, but if someone is shocked with a defibrillator within 3 minutes, their chance of survival increases by 70 %.

Having an AED within a 1/2-mile radius from wherever you are, I believe, is a must. We would welcome further communities to get in touch to see if we can help.”

If anyone dials 999 to a patient who is in cardiac arrest in the area, the caller will be advised of the location of the defibrillator and provided with the code to open the secure cabinet in which it is housed. The ambulance call assessor has the ability to talk to any caller, defibrillator trained or not, through instructions on how to use the device as well as CPR techniques. The defibrillator itself also provides voice guidance throughout, and pictorial guides are also present.

If you would like more information on how you or your business can donate a defibrillator to a Community Public Access Site, visit https://www.aeddonate.org.uk/about/