Defibrillators, or to give them their full name Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) can save lives.  When someone has a cardiac arrest, time is of the essence - a few minutes can make a critical difference to the outcome.

We spoke recently with Jules Johnson from Shipston First Responders who by his own admission is fanatical about these machines.  Over recent years Shipston has seen the number of local AEDs increase significantly, which is great news.  But there is still more that a can be done.

You can see from this map where our local AEDs are.  Defib Finder UK  The closest one to The Herdwicks is at The Enterprise Centre, aka The Hub off Pittway Avenue.  Whilst this may seem close, in an emergency situation when every second counts imagine how long it would take to get down there and bring the device back up to our development.

Wouldn’t it be much better if we had our own AED - or even better one on Herdwick Gate and another on Herdwick Fold?  Jules kindly attended a recent General Meeting of Residents and explained the benefits of having a local AED. 

The Cost

Shipston First Responders can supply and fit an AED for around £1,500.  Currently they undertake to check and maintain all local devices.  The devices are housed in a box that requires an electric supply and ongoing running costs equate to the cost of charging a mobile phone.  In other words it’s negligible.

Hosting an AED

These devices need to be fixed to the outside wall of a property.  Shipston First Responders would need to be happy with any proposed location and they would deal with the installation.  In the event that a property owner subsequently wants the device removed this can be done quickly and at no cost.

AED Training

Whilst the devices do talk to you once activated and give step by step instructions, Jules confirmed that free training could be provided to residents following an AED installation.  Numbers would be limited so it would be first come first served.

Guaging Support from Residents

Those residents who attended the General Meeting agreed it would be a good idea to have a local device.  So with that in mind we are asking residents two questions:

Q1. Funding: How much would you be prepared to contribute towards purchasing an AED for your development?  (We are not asking for money now, just an indication of intent).

Q2. Hosting the AED: Would you consider hosting an AED on your property?

Please respond by clicking on this link to send a message to the Residents Association Committee.

On Herdwick Gate and Herdwick Fold we have 238 homes, so if every home gave £6 we could afford to get one AED.  Ideally one on each development would be even better. 

There could be some residents who think this would be a particularly important community asset to have and may wish to donate a bigger amount.

It may also be possible for the committee to apply for grants to help with the cost, but we would initially like to understand the level of support from within our community.

This is an opportunity for us to potentially save the lives of friends and neighbours.  Please respond to the questions above and let us know what you think.  Contact Us

 

HGHF-RA Committee

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