© 2022 Buckland Newton Community Website Committee Last updated 24th May 2022 12:40 Website design and update by Jeremy Collins
Defibrillator
The village now has its own
defibrillator, housed in an unlocked
cupboard on an outside wall of the
Village Hall by the kitchen door, under
the veranda
Buckland Newton Community Website
in the heart of rural Dorset
Thank you very much to everybody who has
contributed to the Buckland Newton Defibrillator
Fund. We are proud to announce that our ‘new’
replacement village Defibrillator has been
installed. The defib is housed in an UNLOCKED
cupboard on an outside wall of the Village Hall,
by the kitchen door under the veranda.
Defib Notes
In an emergency always ring 999 - ambulance -
straight away; they will advise you.
How you get the defibrillator in an emergency is
worth a bit of prior thought. Maybe you have a
friend or neighbour who is willing to help, either to
fetch the defib or to contact a Defib Runner for you.
The Defib Runners are not to be called out at
any other time except when the ambulance
service has asked for the defibrillator to be
brought - for all other medical problems please
ring 999 or see your GP.
The defib cupboard with the defib inside is
located at the Village Hall and is well signposted
but it may be a good idea to check out for yourself
exactly where it is next time you pass the Village
Hall.
Information cards, to be kept by the phone, have
been delivered to every house - if you have not
received yours, please contact Fizz Lewis on
345521. They show the list of Defib Runners who
have agreed to be telephoned at any time to fetch
the defibrillator. It is of course up to you whether
you want to use them or a neighbour or friend.
NB: for anyone who hasn’t been to an awareness
session on the defib - this apparatus will not work
on anyone whose heart is still beating. Use of CPR
and the defib, under Ambulance Service instruction,
gives a person the best possible outcome after an
arrest.
The machine is being checked once a week by two
Committee members, to ensure it is perfect working
order. South West Ambulance Service Trust are
responsible for the maintenance and sorting any
problems. The original defib has been replaced by
a new one in December 2020.
The Defib Committee
Are looking for more volunteers to go on the
‘Runner’ list on the Information Card and also more
people to become Committee members. Jan
Burnett, Diana Wells, Fizz Lewis, Sandie Stout and
Jane Willis currently comprise the Committee. At
the moment there is little to do for Committee
members apart from helping with the annual training
meeting which we hold in January. We meet only
once a year to discuss this, defibrillator
maintenance and fund raising ideas etc. Not
onerous.
If you are interested in either of these please
contact Fizz Lewis 345521/Jan Burnett 345356 or
any other committee member.
Every year we put out information about the
Defibrillator we have here in the village via the
Lydden Vale News which goes to every house. This
is particularly for the benefit of those who have
recently moved to this area. The Defibrillator is
housed in an unlocked cupboard on the outside wall
of the Village Hall by the back door to the kitchen.
Have a look next time you are there if you haven’t
seen it before. It is available for use in an
emergency, to be fetched on the instructions of the
paramedics after a 999 call by a neighbour/friend or
Defib Runner.
Although anyone can use the Defib (it speaks
instructions to you) there are people in the village
who are trained in its use and will also fetch the
defib for you (Defib Runner). The list of these
people is available on a card In the panel above left)
which can be downloaded and printed, as can the
visual instructions.
We are very grateful to all our volunteer Defib
Runners. We would like to know if there is anyone
else, especially if they live near the village hall, who
would like to volunteer to go on the list too. The
Defibrillator is checked almost every day by our
unsung hero, Sandie Stout, to make sure it is in full
working order. Some of the supplies with it are
replaced annually by SWAST who are in contact
with Sandie. Sandie is also a Committee member
and Run-ner and we are very grateful to her for this
work.
Careline Users - if you are a Careline User please
ensure your provider is aware of the existence of
the defib in the village.