The Community Public Access Defibrillator (CPAD) at Scotmid Co-operative in Avoch has been relocated from inside the store to a secure external cabinet, making it accessible to the local community 24/7.
The Avoch CPAD is one of 42 which Scotmid has installed across our estate of community convenience stores. We worked closely with the Scottish Ambulance Service to map locations where the defibrillators are likely to save the most lives.
The cabinet comes as part of further phasing for our award winning ‘defibrillator initiative’ where CPADs that were initially placed in community stores are gradually being moved to outside locations as awareness and public confidence in CPADs grows. The chance of survival from a heart attack is much greater when a patient receives early defibrillation within five minutes, quickly followed up by advance cardiac care from an ambulance team.
The Avoch community has joined forces with Scotmid to ensure that local awareness of the CPAD is paramount. Chair of Avoch & Killen Community Council, Sarah Dunton, initially made contact to enquire if the defibrillator could be moved outside the store. Sarah said, “The CPAD is an invaluable asset for the village of Avoch. We are delighted that it is now available 24 hours a day in a convenient, central location. Our neighbours in Fortrose have organised some local heart start training and I have booked myself into the first one on the 11th April. More dates are due to be organised in the coming weeks. The Community Council would actively encourage community participation in Heart Start training. As a rural community these skills can be vital as, particularly for cardiac arrest, early intervention is crucial to a successful outcome.”
Scotmid Membership and Community Officer, Laura Paterson, said, “With 42 CPADs across our retail outlets, head office and warehouse, Scotmid has to ensure that residents and visitors to the local community are aware of their existence, their location and how easy they are to use. Making CPADs as accessible as we can is a priority and external cabinets are the logical step for this. We believe the more people that understand the value and simplicity of CPADs, means more potential lives saved and we will do everything we can to support this.”
Any member of the Avoch community can access the defibrillator in an emergency by following the instructions on the cabinet. An ambulance should always be called in the first instance.