Concern over faulty Oban town centre defibrillator
AN ‘UNAVAILABLE’ defibrillator caused concern in Oban last Friday morning after a person collapsed at the train station.
Before an ambulance was on scene, an effort was made to access the defibrillator positioned at the clock in Oban’s Station Square.
However, the operator was unable to grant access to the life-saving piece of equipment.
It was reported on social media that while waiting for the emergency services to arrive, two train passengers, one of whom was a doctor, administered first aid.
Sean MacIntyre, chairman of Dunbeg Community Council, witnessed the incident.
Speaking to The Oban Times, he said: ‘As far as I could tell, someone collapsed and two guards went round to gain access to the defibrillator attached to the clock. They phoned the number on it – it tells you to phone 999 and an operator will give you the code – but they could not gain access to it.’
A spokesperson from the Scottish Ambulance Service said: ‘We were on the scene within six minutes and transferred the patient to hospital.
‘At the time of this incident, this public access defibrillator was showing as unavailable and we will be fully investigating the circumstances with the local community.’
Councillor for Oban South and the Isles Roddy McCuish said: ‘This is extremely concerning and I am sure the powers-thatbe will ensure this is rectified.
‘These are lifesaving pieces of equipment, but they are only of use if they are able to be accessed quickly. What we have to be sure of is that the rest of the defibrillators are checked so this does not happen again.’