A new defibrillator has been installed at Cleveland Square Community Centre in Newark as part of Newark and Sherwood District Council’s commitment to the lifesaving devices.
It has been sited in between existing defibrillators in Hawtonville, at the Co-op on Churchill Drive, and the Tom Mann Pavilion at Devon Park.
Training is also being arranged for local residents to familiarise themselves with a defibrillator.
“Heart disease is one of the biggest killers in this country. There are more than 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests every year,” said Coun Paul Taylor, portfolio holder for Public Protection and Community Relations.
“The new defibrillator at the Cleveland Square Community Centre gives us almost full coverage in this ward. It means that anyone unlucky enough to suffer a cardiac arrest outside of the hospital environment will stand a better chance of recovery. Every minute lost, following an arrest, reduces the chances of survival dramatically.”
Coun Susan Crosby, portfolio holder for Health, Wellbeing and Leisure, added: “It goes without saying, if you or someone you see are having a heart attack, calling 999 is the right thing to do. Our defibrillators are registered on the Circuit, the national defibrillator network, so if they are needed they can easily be found and put to work.”
“Making sure that residents across the district can have access to a defibrillator should the need arise, is really important to us. Where we see a need for one, we will work with local communities to get one supplied and to provide training in how to use one where we can.”
‘The Circuit’ is a national defibrillator network run by The British Heart Foundation that provides an overview of where publicly available defibrillators are located. The location and status of all defibrillators registered on ‘The Circuit’ is instantly synchronised with the emergency services’ systems to ensure that their information is always up to date and ready to help save lives.
It’s easy to register a defibrillator and we’d urge anyone who may have one or has one on their land to register it with the Circuit. Currently, many defibrillators don’t get used because emergency services don’t know where they are, how to access them or they haven’t been suitably maintained.
All defibrillators owned by the District Council are registered with ‘The Circuit’ and maintained regularly by officers to ensure they are ready for when they are needed.
For more information or to register to ‘The Circuit’, please visit their website at: https://www.thecircuit.uk/
The new defibrillator has been installed at Cleveland Square. Training on how to use it will be carried out for the local community to attend. Dates and times will be announced once confirmed.