To help someone who is in cardiac arrest survive, a defibrillator needs to be found as quickly as possible. For every minute it takes for the defibrillator to reach someone and deliver a shock, their chances of survival lower.
Tongue End does not have access to this vital hardware and is something we need to look at addressing as soon as possible. The Tongue End Community Group are investigating all possible avenues to rectify this problem and the primary challenge at this point is location. Privately owned homes are not ideal so we’re investigating options for installing either on the BT Exchange building or utilising one of the street lights to provide electricity to the box.
There have been many months of chasing BT (British Telecom) to make use of the local exchange building but finding the right contact has been challenging. With little in the way of progress, we’ve had little choice but to give up on the exchange building and seek an alternative location.
Privately owned buildings are always recommended against when it comes to a defibrillator. This is down to the potential for frequent sale of the property and the changing ownership of the electrical supply. Some people, especially in the current challenging and economic times, may not be happy with this additional responsibility.
Local businessman Jay Rochford has offered a unique solution to this problem. Given that his property is a registered business. this helps grease the wheels of potential funders of this project. The property is largely solar-powered so any new owners are unlikely to concern themselves with the amount of power being drawn by the defibrillator. To top it off, Jay has extensive training as an A&E trauma nurse and next door a trained paramedic. Not only has the location issue been largely solved but access to two medically trained professionals is not something that many small communities can boast.
The project plans and costs (see below) have been put forward to the Deeping Fen Wind Farm Advisory Committee who have provisionally granted full funding pending final costs from the electrician.
The Tongue End Community Group wish to offer their sincere appreciation to Elizabeth Sneath who has pledged £250 to this project, the Deeping St Nicholas Parish Council who has provided a further £500, and the Deeping Fen Wind Farm Advisory Committee who has agreed to cover the remainder of any direct costs:
| Item/Service | Cost |
|---|---|
| Cardiac Science G5 Semi-Automatic Defibrillator | £1216.80 +VAT |
| Heated Cabinet | £625 +VAT |
| Electrician Costs | TBC |
| Annual Service Level Agreement - Safety Checks | £180.00 +VAT |
There will also be ongoing servicing costs not included as part of the initial purchase, they are as follows and will be covered by fund raising and support from the parish:
| Item/Service | Cost |
|---|---|
| Defib Pad Replacement every 2 years | £54.08 +VAT |
| Battery Replacement every 4 years | £292.24 +VAT |
| Annual Service Level Agreement - Safety Checks | £180.00 +VAT |
The Tongue End Community Group wish to offer our thanks to the following people who have given particular time and attention to help make this happen:
Our councillor, Elizabeth Sneath, from SHDC has continued to give her full support to this project by putting us in touch with the right people with experience in all related matters. Elizabeth has also pledged £250 in funding for which we couldn’t be more grateful.
Jan has direct experience in projects involved in the distribution and installation of defibrillators in local communities, her experience and understanding of what is required have largely driven this project to its successful conclusion. Thank you Jan.
The Deeping St Nicholas Council have been fully behind what they believe to be an invaluable piece of equipment and immediately put forward £500 with an additional promise of support if needed. This brought our funding tally to £750.
The DFWFAC are the committee behind the supplied funding from Wind Prospect, the responsible party for the installation of the local wind farm. This funding is supplied to local community projects for which this was a prime candidate. Following our written submission to the committee, they agreed to cover the remainder of the initial purchase and installation costs. Without this much-needed funding, this project would have been seriously delayed. Our sincere thanks to the committee.
And to Jay Rochford to which completion of this project is largely owed. Without an install location, we may have been waiting a considerable amount of time in opening up other options. Jay has continued to provide support in getting electrical work carried out and working with the relevant suppliers to help move this project towards its completion.