‘Saving a life is worth 20 minutes of your time’: Local people urged to take part in defibrillator training in Dornoch
A new insulated defibrillator unit created using “space age technology” is to be installed in Dornoch this weekend and members of the public are being given the opportunity to learn how to use it.
The AED (automated external defibrillator) unit, which has been gifted by an anonymous donor and will be fitted on the outside of the town’s West Church Hall, does not need a power source due to its pioneering design.
CPR campaigner David Sullivan, a Surrey-based businessman and former armed forces trainer, is making a special trip to Dornoch to install the life-saving machine and will be running drop-in training sessions on Monday and Tuesday.
Mr Sullivan set up Creating Lifesavers and Code Blue CPR - organisations focused on increasing access to defibrillators and CPR training to improve survival rates - after losing four friends to heart attacks.
The campaigner previously visited Dornoch as part of his 1100-mile ‘World’s Longest Golf Hole’ fundraising challenge in 2021 which saw him walk from John O’Groats to Land’s End while hitting golf balls. He raised over £10,000 for the British Heart Foundation.
Two years later Mr Sullivan helped Royal Dornoch Golf Club become the first course in the world to install defibrillators and first aid kits on each of its golf buggies.
He has been working with another company to develop a new insulated defibrillator cabinet for use in places where there is no power supply to the cabinet.
Most AED (automated external defibrillator) cabinets need to be kept within a certain temperature range and require a power supply to power heating elements, lighting and alarms. AEDs themselves are battery-powered.
Mr Sullivan said: “Until now, a power source was required to trigger a protective thermostat. We have used space-age material to keep the defibrillator at an ambient temperature and fully operational anywhere between plus 45 and minus 15 degrees Centigrade.
“The insulated unit is ideal for the far reaches of any golf course, outside business premises, in vehicles or even up mountains and in national parks.”
He continued: “We lag way behind other countries in cardiac arrest survival rates because we have been reactive rather than proactive. If you can get a defibrillator to a patient within three minutes the chance of survival jumps from seven per cent to over 70 per cent.”
The public training sessions will take place at the West Church Hall, Dornoch on Monday, March 31, from 9am-10.30am and also from 6.30pm-7.30pm, and on Tuesday, April 1, from 9am-10am.
Mr Sullivan said: “The training does not take long - it is just a 20-minute session. There is no need to book a slot, please just come along to the hall. Please encourage your neighbours, friends and family to come along. Saving a life is worth 20 minutes of your time.”
