On Friday night a lady was taken ill on The Green.  Local residents assisted (and they should be commended for their efforts) and the ambulance was called. It was felt that the defibrillator at the village hall would assist and the ambulance service was asked by more than one person for the code to access the device.

For reasons that are unclear at this time the code was not forthcoming and due to the delay, the only option was for the door to be prised open to gain access to the device.

By this time the ambulance had arrived.

The device is housed in the cabinet for two reasons, one to keep it at a temperature that allows it to work in all seasons (it has a heater) and sadly due to the times we live in, to keep it safe and available.

When the ambulance is called they should be in a position to give out the code to gain access. They own the device and the cabinet is to their specifications.

Clearly, there is concern over ready access,  in an attempt to alleviate these concerns the code for the device will be supplied to the landlord at the Bulls Head. A poster sited by the device will advise of this.

In the days to come, we will write to nearby residents to ask if they are willing to have the code at hand and for their house number or name to be supplied on the poster at the hall so that in the event of a delay there is a more ready access than was the case on Friday night.

This does not negate the need to call 999 which is paramount as not every heart attack can be dealt with by a defibrillator and of course there are many other medical emergencies.

If anyone living near to the hall wishes to volunteer their house number and to have the code please don’t wait for the letter, do get in touch either via Facebook or by contacting the Hall via the form below.

The ambulance service has been written to and asked for an explanation and this will be shared when received.

Lastly, when the devices were installed over two years ago around 50 people volunteered to be trained in basic lifesaving skills. This is a very small proportion of the local population. If there is a need then the hall will arrange additional training, either to refresh those who have had training previously or to those who have never been trained.