Saltwood has a Public Access Defibrillator!

Some Saltwood residents will already have noticed that the former telephone box on Saltwood Village Green (opposite Colebrook Sturrock Estate Agents), from which BT removed the telephone some months ago, has now become the home for a new public access defibrillator.

The defibrillator has been bought by Saltwood Parish Council, with the generous support of our local District Councillors, Cllr Georgina Treloar and Cllr Lesley Whybrow, through the FHDC’s Member Ward Budget Grant Scheme. The defibrillator is managed by the Parish Council in conjunction with the Community Heartbeat Trust.

Swift access to a defibrillator can save a life in the event of sudden cardiac arrest. It should be used in conjunction with CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation). Public access defibrillators are designed to be used by people without medical or first aid training: they guide rescuers through the process with visual and voice prompts. A YouTube video explaining how to use a defibrillator in conjunction with CPR can be found by clicking on this link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFvL7wTFzl0&t=52s.

Different public access defibrillators have slightly different features. A further YouTube video showing the features of the defibrillator installed in Saltwood can be found by clicking on the following link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vE34JeTrZuo.

The Parish Council is in the process of registering the defibrillator with the South East Coast Ambulance Service and some further work is necessary to connect to power supply to the heated cabinet in which the defibrillator sits but the defibrillator itself is ready for use now…although let’s hope it is never needed!

22 November 2021