At its meeting last night (Thursday 15 December), East Dunbartonshire Council agreed a report that will see a network of defibrillators provided across the area in Council owned or operated premises.
Council Leader Gordan Low was pleased the report was approved unanimously, and engagement on the proposals will begin early in the new year with local voluntary bodies, community councils and residents groups, community planning partners and relevant national agencies.
Councillor Low explained, “This decision to progress a network of publicly accessible defibrillators follows the motion, unanimously agreed by Council back in March this year. The evidence is clear that where external defibrillators are available in an emergency situation, and are used before the arrival of the emergency services they can be life-saving.
“Currently we are proposing defibrillators at 39 locations right across the towns and villages of East Dunbartonshire. These will include externally accessible defibrillators in places that are central and with high footfall, including our community hubs and libraries, our public halls and community centres, and a number of Council owned buildings in and around our population centres.”
There are already 18 devices located in the Council owned or operated facilities in the area and two of those sites have multiple provision. A further 24 devices with the supporting equipment are required to complete the proposed network, with costs in the region of £60,000.
All new and existing publicly accessible defibrillators in this initiative will be registered with the National Defibrillator Network – ‘The Circuit’ – provided by the British Heart Foundation. All defibrillators registered on The Circuit are visible to NHS ambulance services, who can direct callers to the nearest location and ultimately help save lives.
Councillor Low added, “We will now engage with community groups and organisations in early January to gather their views on our proposals, identify any further potential locations, and determine if there are any other publicly accessible defibrillators in their premises. A report will then come back to Council in early Spring for final agreement of our vitally important and life-saving plans.”