Another defibrillator for our community

Thanks to the efforts of Caroline Fraser, the daughter of one of our members, the Rotary Club of Blairgowrie received one of 30 defibrillators donated by St Andrews First Aid to community groups throughout Scotland.

Jim Dorman of St Andrews First Aid visited the Club to present us with the defibrillator  and show everyone just how easy they are to use. No one need be anxious about not being trained – in addition to the defibrillator having all the instructions with it, the 999 call-taker would keep on the line and talk you through it. Jim also stressed the importance of starting external heart massage (cardiac compression) immediately. 90% of cardiac arrests outside hospital are fatal: every minute without CPR and defibrillation reduces a victim’s survival time by 7 – 10%. If a defibrillator is used within 3 – 5 minutes of cardiac arrest, survival rates jump from 6% to 74%. Defibrillators do make a difference!

So that the defibrillator would always be available to the public, the club purchased an outdoor cabinet for it. This has now been fitted to the wall outside The Old Cross Inn in Rattray. President Phil thanked Ian and Kelly Mann of the Old Cross Inn for allowing the defibrillator to be installed where it is, and Pete Richardson of First Aid Perthshire who will be responsible for maintaining it. 

The defibrillator will be registered on The Circuit, the national defibrillator network run by the British Heart Foundation.  This enables 999 Call Takers to direct callers to the nearest one. At the moment many defibrillators do not get used because emergency services don’t know where they are or how to access them – and this can cost lives.