Two communities in South Ayrshire have taken steps to save lives with the installation of defibrillators.
Loans village, near Troon, and a caravan park in Girvan have both installed the life-saving equipment with support from charity St John Scotland.
The devices can make a significant difference to a person’s chances of surviving a cardiac arrest.
The defibrillators – which are designed to be used by anyone with no training required – work by producing an electric shock to restart the heart.
This, coupled with starting CPR as quickly as possible, gives the person the best possible chance of surviving.
The defibrillator in Loans has been installed at the village hall, and is accessible 24/7 for use in an emergency.
It has been registered on The Circuit – the system used by the Scottish Ambulance Service to direct someone to their nearest defibrillator in an emergency.
David Chalmers, chair of Loans community council, said: “Our village has a large percentage of older residents and it was felt any help Loans community council could deliver towards their continued wellbeing could only be welcome.
“We were fortunate to win a South Ayrshire Council community grant for the provision of a defibrillator for our village.
“We would like to give our thanks to South Ayrshire Council for their help with installation and to Loans community centre Ltd for their permission to locate the defibrillator at the hall.”
The second device has been installed at the Ardmillan Castle caravan park in Girvan.
As well as helping to provide the defibrillators, local St John Scotland volunteers recently provided free CPR training sessions in both areas, and demonstrated how to use the defibrillator should it ever be needed.
Jess Duncan, chair of St John Scotland (Ayrshire and Arran), said: “We’re delighted to have been able to help these two South Ayrshire communities through the St John Scotland community defibrillator scheme.
“Although they are easy to use – you just switch it on and it reads aloud instructions to you – we were also pleased to be able to demonstrate how to use them at recent sessions organised by our local volunteers.
“We’re keen to work with communities across Ayrshire to not only increase access to defibrillators, but train members of the public in lifesaving bystander CPR.”
Communities interested in finding out more about the scheme can get further information at www.stjohnscotland.org.uk
Don't miss the latest Ayrshire headlines – sign up to our free daily newsletter here
