Essington Parish Council community defibrillator scheme
Following a Facebook appeal by Essington councillor David Clifft in January 2013 asking for advice on defibrillators. Safeaid Services a local first aid training company who provide accredited first aid courses offered their skills.
It was felt that the provision of an automated external defibrillator (AED) for the semi-rural community would make perfect sense. As there are five wards within the parish, councillor Clifft asked for five! We set the challenge of getting one per year.
We agreed that Safeaid Services could assist in fundraising, training the community in AEDs use, and general technical advice.
The aim of the scheme was to provide public access defibrillators that the community would be able to access.
On advice from West Midlands Ambulance Service the AEDs would be stored in a specially designed key-coded wall cabinet, located outside the community centre or other prominent location. If an incident was to happen, on receiving the 999 call the ambulance controller would tell the member of the public the location and code for the cabinet, enabling them to access the AED and use it before the arrival of the ambulance service, increasing survival chances of the patient.
Once the idea was in place, the hard work began! We kicked off the fundraising with a large donation from Safeaid Services, as well as further donations from several firms and individuals in the area. Collection boxes were also placed in prominent local amenities.
We set up a training morning for the local community to raise awareness and enhance the skill levels of those attending. It was very well attended and we asked for a minimum donation off those that attended.
Our biggest fundraising event was the Essington Big Coffee Morning. The local community donated cakes, some of which were works of art! Then the very generous public brought them back, while Safeaid Services provided a static display to promote the scheme.
All this generosity enabled us to buy our first AED and wall cabinet.
The scheme continued to grow with training sessions and more fundraising.
In January 2014 we purchased two more AEDs for Newtown and Westcroft wards following an application to the British Heart foundation which enabled us to purchase the units at a much reduced cost.
The fundraising work is continuing so we can purchase the last two and provide assistance on all aspects of the scheme.
If you're interested in helping with fundraising or getting involved feel free to contact us. Email d.clifft@sstaffs.gov.uk or Safeaidservices@yahoo.co.uk or visit www.safeaidservices.co.uk
