A Brighton community now has access to two public defibrillators after a successful community crowdfunding effort.
The life-saving kit, which analyses heart rhythms and delivers heart-starting electric shocks, can be found in cabinets outside the Roundhill pub, in Ditchling Road, and Park Crescent pub, near The Level.
Round Hill resident Dominic Furlong’s fundraising effort last December raised £2,000 in two days to buy and fit a publicly available defibrillator in his neighbourhood.
The money paid for a subsidised defibrillator and cabinet and will contribute to community training – online and in person – as well as extra signs around the new kit.
Mr Furlong said: “Round Hill, like many areas of Brighton and Hove, is a defib desert.
“This came to my attention because my partner’s nephew is a paramedic and came to stay with us in the Round Hill area of Brighton last summer.
“We were talking about his work and out of curiosity looked up the location of our nearest defibrillator on the national database, defibfinder.uk.
“I was shocked to learn our nearest 24/7 publicly accessible defibrillator was located at the Jubilee Library, a 20-minute walk from the centre of Round Hill.
“Discussing with neighbours, we found out there is an unlisted 24/7 public-access defibrillator at the entrance to London Road station which, although nearer, is still too far away to be of use in an emergency for most Round Hill residents.
“The most challenging part of the process was finding suitable sites that would agree to host the community defibs.
“Thankfully, Nathan Mosey and Adam Smith, at the Roundhill, and Dafydd Beacon and Kathryn Joyce, at the Park Crescent, once approached, were more than happy to agree.”
After a successful application to the Sussex Heart Charity for two defibrillators, they were installed by local electrician Julian Suffolk, of Joules Electrics, with help from carpenter Reuben Hawthorn Orbach. Both gave their services for free.
Other local defibrillators, including those at the Preston Park doctors’ surgery and Brighton and Hove Sports and Social Club, are restricted to their opening times.
Research from 2020 showed that accessing a defibrillator within three to five minutes of a cardiac arrest increased the chances of survival by more than 40 per cent.
As of May last year, the South East Coast Ambulance Service average response time to a category 1 call – the most urgent requiring immediate medical attention – was more than eight minutes.
No training is needed to use a defibrillator because it includes audible instructions to analyse the heart rhythm and, if necessary, give someone a potentially life-saving shock.
I hope they have also raised the money to inspect and maintain them. It is not enough to have them, they have to work when needed and if they don’t then the ramifications can be severe, and I don’t mean only for the patient.
You will be glad to note that PADs are registered to The Circuit network which allows that to happen.