Village welcomes its very own life-saver

A life-saving defibrillator has been installed in Maddiston following a campaign by local residents.
Campaigner Norrie Brown at the newly-installed defibrillator at Maddiston police stationCampaigner Norrie Brown at the newly-installed defibrillator at Maddiston police station
Campaigner Norrie Brown at the newly-installed defibrillator at Maddiston police station

The device is fitted at the village’s police station for the public to use in an emergency situation.

Public Access Defibrillators (PADs) can be the difference between someone living or dying if they had a cardiac arrest in the street. Survival rates jump from six to 75 per cent if a ‘shock’ from a defibrillator is administered within three minutes.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

If a defibrillator is in place in a community, anyone calling 999 would be given its location and asked to use it.

The life-saving campaign was spearheaded by lifeguard Norrie Brown (57), who lives in the village, and first aid instructor Victoria O’Neill (39), who is also a First Responder.

There are also plans to install more in other locations in the Braes area following successful fundraising activities which have allowed the Maddiston Community Defib Project group to buy more.

Victoria said: “We have now received the two defibrillators and are continuing to fundraise for the specially controlled cabinets they need to be housed in.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Once these are installed we intend to fundraise for more defibrillators to be installed at other points around the Maddiston, Rumford and Brightons areas.

“We are also in contact with like-minded people who wish to set up a similar scheme in the Shieldhill/California areas and hope to work closely with them in the future.”

Norrie said: “We can’t thank the British Heart Foundation and everyone who has been involved with the campaign enough for their generous donations and support.

“We have also been able to run our Call Push Rescue training programme which helps to train people how to use the equipment as well as first aid.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“We will continue to train people and raise funds to buy the equipment we need as we strive to increase the amount of people who survive heart attacks and sudden cardiac arrest in Maddiston and the surrounding area.”