MSP hails breakthrough on defibrillator database

Defibrillators held in Nor th La n a r k s h i re Council premises are to be registered online to ensure anyone requiring the medical assistance can benefit from the equipment.

It comes after Airdrie and Coatbridge’s community first responders, supported by MSPs Fulton MacGregor and Alex Neil, called for the devices’ locations across Monklands to be registered so that immediate directions could be given in an emergency.

Coatbridge representative Mr MacGregor wrote to the local authority with the request – and council officials have this week confirmed that they are making arrangements for their defibrillator locations to be made available on the Heartsafe website.

The MSP called the development “great news”, telling the Advertiser: “Access to a defibrillator can be the difference between life and death for someone suffering a sudden cardiac arrest.

“I was shocked to see so few are registered across my constituency, and Scotland as a whole, so I’m delighted that the council has agreed to register all its devices.”

He added: “I will continue to raise awareness with other organisations to make sure that the location of as many devices as possible is known.”

Au t o m a t e d external defibrillators (AEDs) are used to check heart rhythms and deliver vital shock treatment to someone who has suffered a cardiac arrest.

First responder Donna Swanson told the Advertiser last month: “AEDs are one of the most important life-saving tools available and can be used by anyone, regardless of medical training.

“Every defibrillator needs to be registered so that people can be told there’s one nearby if they phone 999.

“A person could have a cardiac arrest on the street outside a building that has an AED but it wouldn’t be known that there was one there.

“It’s great that people are aware of them and putting them in place but not registering them means someone who suffers cardiac arrest nearby won’t be able to benefit without delay.

“If those in schools and sports centres were registered with the ambulance service, that would be another 30 or more across North Lanarkshire.”

A council spokesman said at the start of the campaign: “We have defibrillators in all 23 secondary schools, leisure centres and most council buildings, and we’re looking at expanding this to other areas.

“We are also working to get these registered with the Scottish Ambulance Service.”

Good result First responders (from left), Debbie Brownlee, Donna Swanson and Caileigh Mitchell with Coatbridge MSP Fulton MacGregor and campaign supporters from the Kieran McDade Foundation, Derek Murphy and Martin Holmes