SOUTH SOMERSET NEWS: Community defibrillator plan for Hardington

COUNCILLORS are expected to give the go-ahead later this week to financially support a project which could help to save lives in a village near Yeovil.

South Somerset District Council’s Area South committee is being recommended on Wednesday (March 4, 2015) to award Hardington Mandeville Parish Council a £1,374 grant towards the cost of a community defibrillator.

Following somebody suffering a heart attack the chance of survival decreases by 23 per cent per minute. It is therefore vital that medical treatment starts as soon as possible.

The district council’s community development officer, Natalie Ross, said: “A defibrillator delivers an electrical current through the chest which aims to shock the heart back into a normal rhythm allowing it to pump again.

“A quick response using automated technology can significantly improve the person’s quality of life, as the longer the brain is starved of oxygen, the more damage occurs.”

An AED is a portable defibrillator especially designed for people with no medical background where voice commands and screen messages guide the user through the process and the technology will only allow it to shock a “shockable” heart rhythm.

The rates of survival for people experiencing sudden cardiac arrest are five per cent with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation alone and 50 per cent with defibrillation.

Hardington Parish Council wants to buy a community defibrillator that will be held in a secure cabinet in the village. When the emergency services are called, if necessary, the cabinet code will given to the caller.

Cllr Cathy Bakewell said that Hardington was only four miles from Yeovil, but the road was single track with passing places during some of its length. She emphasised that this could mean a “critical delay” in an ambulance arriving for someone who has had a heart attack.

Cllr Gina Seaton has also given her full support to the project.

The defibrillator will cost £2,748 and it is hoped that come Wednesday the funding will be shared between Hardington Parish Council and the district council.

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