Dingwall trail-blazers lead the way with heart kit
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A BUTCHER’S shop in Dingwall is ahead of the game after fitting a life-saving defibrillator.
Cockburn George & Son on Mill Street cemented plans for a cardiac arrest kit to hang outside on its shop wall days before butchers all across Scotland united in plans to raise money to do the same.
Fraser MacGregor, who co-owns the shop with fellow butcher Paul McKay, agreed to hang the unit outside the town’s West End shop after being approached by the Skye-based charity Lucky2BHere, which fundraises for the equipment.
He said: "As soon as we were asked we said ‘yes, of course, this is an ideal location’. It will be on the wall 24 hours a day, seven days a week."
Lucky2BeHere trainer Andrew Smith, who is part of a small volunteer team in Dingwall, was at the forefront of the move.
He said: "We had a bit of good fortune where a bank decided to fund £6000 to pay for four defibrillators in the Dingwall area.
"I spoke to Cockburns and they came forward and agreed that we could have the kit fitted. Cockburns was the first business that we approached because we were looking for somewhere in the West End. The timing was just great because literally the day after they agreed to do it a nationwide campaign was launched for butchers to do the same thing – so Cockburns have spearheaded things."
He added: "This equipment is so valuable. Somebody that collapses outside of hospital has a six per cent chance of survival but when you have one of these kits available it can go up to around 70 per cent."
It is understood the bank’s generous donation will also pay for kits to be fitted in Inverness, Thurso and Kirkwall.
Lucky2BeHere has a strong network of volunteer defibrillator trainers across the Highlands and Islands.
It has fundraised for around 200 units so far and Dingwall now has one at the primary school, outside Castle Street Church of Scotland and Highland Council’s Ross House building in High Street.
There are other kits in various places around Ross-shire including Contin Village Stores. And another unit is due to be fitted outside Alness Pharmacy next month.
