New defib for Dundee primary school
St John Scotland has helped a primary school in Dundee install a defibrillator, after pupils went on a fundraising drive to buy the life-saving machine.
Pupils at Our Lady’s Primary were inspired to raise the money after a defibrillator was used to save the life of the dad of one of their teachers.
Ged Cashley, father of teacher Gemma Soutar, went into cardiac arrest while playing ice hockey at Dundee Ice Arena last November. Luckily for Ged, a defibrillator had been installed at the arena just a day before - and was used to save his life.
Paula Nicoll, principal teacher at Our Lady’s, said that when they heard about Ged’s near-death experience, it inspired the pupils and staff to try to make a difference of their own.
She said: “Ged is the father of one of our teachers and when we saw the impact that a public defibrillator had on saving his life, we decided as a school to fundraise to have a defibrillator installed for school and public use. Our hope is that the defibrillator will go some way to helping a family who might unfortunately find themselves in a similar situation to Ged.”
Pupils from the school raised money for the defib by carol signing, bag packing, raffles, and ice cream sales. Our local volunteers helped them with ordering and installing the device, which it is hoped will be of benefit to the whole community.
The defibrillator has been installed on the outside wall of the school and can be accessed 24/7 in an emergency.