Towards the end of last year, the Presbytery of Edinburgh embarked on an initiative to have defibrillators mounted on every Church of Scotland building across the City, thereby increasing local access to this piece of valuable life-saving equipment.
The project, which is being run in conjunction with the Edinburgh Committee of St John Scotland, agreed that a defibrillator be sited at Balerno Parish Church and accessible 24hrs per day.
Rev Dr André J Groenewald and Anna Lisa Wilson, President of Balerno Children’s Gala Committee feature in the photograph at the commissioning of the new facility.
The defibrillator is a Phillips HeartStart FRx model, designed to be simple to use by members of the public, and is located on the outside wall of the St Joseph’s Centre, Main Street, Balerno – part of the Church campus.
The equipment comes with single-use defibrillator pads and a key which enables the unit to work correctly if the victim of a cardiac arrest is a child. The storage cabinet is heated for winter protection and contains a basic First Aid pack. Quick access is by means of the combination lock and is authorised through a 999 call, quoting the emergency location code on the cabinet.
While the capital costs have been met by Church of Scotland, Balerno Parish Church is delighted Balerno Children’s Gala Committee has assisted in meeting the cost of installation including provision of the power supply to the cabinet.
Notices detailing the location of the unit are being displayed on noticeboards and in shop windows in the locality.