Defibrillator registration campaign launched

The Scottish Ambulance Service is appealing to communities and organisations on Arran to register potentially life-saving public access defibrillators on its dedicated website.

Launching its Registration to Resuscitation campaign, the service’s national community resilience manager Murray McEwan said: ‘Public access defibrillators can be found all over Scotland, including many communities in Ayrshire and Arran, and are vital pieces of equipment in the crucial early minutes following a cardiac arrest before an ambulance arrives.

‘When someone experiences a cardiac arrest they are unconscious and not breathing, or not breathing normally, and their life is in immediate danger, which is why these defibrillators are so important.’

On Arran, thanks largely to Fiona Laing of the Community Access Defibrillator Project, Arran residents have access to 21 defibrillators across the island.

Private institutions and commercial organisations who are in possession of their own defibrillators might raise that number significantly and provide an even larger coverage area for the Scottish Ambulance Service.

Mr McEwan went on: ‘Currently, anyone can acquire a defibrillator and they are often based in community centres, sports facilities and other public places. While there is no legal obligation to register defibrillators, the Scottish Ambulance Service now has a dedicated registration website and we are appealing to local communities to ensure we know where these are, so when someone calls 999 we will know where the nearest defibrillator is if it is required.’

The Scottish Ambulance Service public access defibrillator registration website address is: pad. scottishambulance.com.