Saving lives in East Ayrshire
St John Scotland has been working in the East Ayrshire town of Galston to help save lives.
The community has become the latest in the region to install a Public Access Defibrillator, with help from our Community Defibrillator Scheme, while our volunteers provided follow up CPR and defibrillator awareness training to help locals learn how they can save a life.
The defibrillator, which has been installed on the Boys’ Brigade Mission Hall on Park Road, was unveiled just before Christmas.
It could help save someone's life in the event of cardiac arrest, which affects around 70 people in Scotland each week.
The device was provided thanks to the Galston Community Development Trust, who donated the majority of the funding, while we provided additional funding and advice through our Community Defibrillator Scheme. It has been installed on the outside wall of the town's Mission Hall, meaning it is available 24/7 for use in an emergency.
David Richmond, Chair of Galston Community Development Trust, said: “The Trust were pleased to use money from the profit of the Galston Lottery to part-finance the public, 24 hour accessible defibrillator. They are also grateful to The Boys' Brigade for agreeing to host the defibrillator on their building. Within a fortnight of becoming active the defibrillator was used on New Year's Day and returned by the Scottish Ambulance Service the next day. It was good to see that system operates well if needed."
St John Scotland volunteers provided a free CPR and defibrillator awareness session in Galston this weekend, helping locals learn simple bystander CPR and see how easy a defibrillator is to use, so they can help save a life in an emergency.
Jess Duncan, Chair of St John Scotland, Ayrshire and Arran said: “We want to continue to work with communities across Ayrshire to ensure more people have easy access to a defibrillator and know how to perform CPR.”