Lions present two more defibrillators

Lions present two more defibrillators

10 December 2014

DOWNPATRICK Lions Club’s campaign to provide more defibrillators in public places has received a welcome boost.

The Lions have been involved in the past 18 months with local business and community organisations, as well as members of the public in raising funds to provide defibrillators in easily accessed public places in the Downpatrick area.

Money raised by Lions Club members, along with donations from other groups, has resulted in these small, portable and potentially lifesaving machines being located at the Asda supermarket, Down Museum and a converted BT telephone kiosk in Lower Market Street.

In order to extend the project further, discussions took place recently with representatives of community organisations in the Ballymote area, resulting in the Lions collecting generous donations from local people outside the SuperValu Store last October.

The Lions Club were delighted when Mr. Pat Branniff, chairman of the Ballymote Community Project Board, and Mr. Nicholas McCrickard, project manager, offered to provide the remainder of the funds for the purchase of a defibrillator.

The defibrillator was presented last Thursday prior to the British Red Cross delivering another training session for local people in the centre.

Also recently a second defibrillator was purchased by Downpatrick Lions Club on behalf of Tullymurry Equestrian Centre, Ballydugan Road, Downpatrick.

Mrs. Marian Turley and staff at the centre raised enough money from various recent fundraising events, supported by the users of the centre, to purchase the defibrillator.

The Lions were delighted to facilitate the acquisition of the machine and arrange for a training session to be provided once again by the British Red Cross trainer.

A Lions Club spokesman said that the organisation was indebted to the many individuals and groups who have supported its public access defibrillator project since May 2013.

“The hope of the Lions Club is that these two new portable and accessible defibrillators will assist anyone who may find themselves in an emergency situation in the Ballymote or Tullymurry areas,” he said.

“In Northern Ireland in a typical year over 1,400 people suffer an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest with fewer that 10 per cent surviving. The survival rate can be increased dramatically with early CPR and a defibrillator shock. This is recognised in communities where more people are trained to perform CPR and are willing to intervene.

“The Lions Club recognise that while the early use of a portable defibrillator in a life-threatening cardiac emergency is of major importance for a collapsed person who is not breathing, the other vital component is the first-aid training in CPR.

“The Lions Club have now organised and supported the Red Cross in delivering five basic first aid and defibrillator training sessions in local venues with the kind permission of the owners. They hope to continue to provide this important community service into the future and encourage the public to undertake these training sessions when they become available.”

Meanwhile, Asda have provided their own defibrillator, and have asked the Lions Club to nominate a deserving local group or area to relocate the machine which was purchased from funds raised at a bag-pack in May 2013.