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Life-saving equipment installed at Ross-shire leisure centres





Defbrillators have been installed at several well-used community facilties across Ross-shire
Defbrillators have been installed at several well-used community facilties across Ross-shire

LIFE-SAVING defibrillators for use in emergency cases of cardiac arrest have been installed at nine leisure centres in Ross-shire in a joint project between British Heart Foundation (BHF) Scotland, High Life Highland and The Scottish Ambulance Service.

The locations are Alness Swimming Pool; the town’s Averon Leisure Centre; Black Isle Leisure Centre in Fortrose; Dingwall Leisure Centre; Gairloch Leisure Centre; Invergordon Leisure Centre; Lochbroom Leisure in Ullapool; Tain Royal Academy Community Complex; and Leanaig centre at Ben Wyvis Primary in Conon Bridge.

They were chosen after BHF Scotland examined locations where a community defibrillator could be valuable – for example remote communities and urban venues with high footfall or where clusters of cardiac arrests had previously occurred.

The defibrillators will also be mapped by ambulance staff so call handlers can direct people to the nearest one while patients wait for paramedics to arrive.

Staff members at the centres have also received training on how to use the equipment and are now able to carry out defibrillation, if required.

It is estimated that, for every minute that passes without defibrillation, chances of survival decrease by 10 per cent.

High Life Highland chairman Laurence Young said: “Every second counts when someone’s heart goes into cardiac arrest, and having access to a defibrillator can mean the difference between life and death.”

Marjory Burns, director at BHF Scotland, said: “Many people could be saved if more defibrillators were available in public places and people informed about how they fit into the chain of survival. “We’re delighted to have partnered with High Life Highland to make defibrillators available in locations where they could really make a life-saving difference to someone having a cardiac arrest.”

Kenny Freeburn, head of community resilience with the Scottish Ambulance Service, said: “Public access defibrillators make a positive contribution to safer and sustainable communities around the country.

“While we have world class ambulance response times in Scotland, we know that in cardiac cases every second counts and that equipping communities with basic lifesaving skills and equipment will further improve survival rates.


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