A public access defibrillator has been installed in Scotmid Laurencekirk to help save lives in the local community, as part of a national partnership between Scotmid Co-operative and the Scottish Ambulance Service.
Scotmid has also donated £200 to local charity, Stars in the Sky, who are fundraising to provide additional defibrillators in halls and venues in the town. Scotmid staff have been trained by the Scottish Ambulance Service to use the defibrillator and to perform resuscitation, equipping them with the skills they need to save the life of a person suffering from cardiac arrest.
Stewart Smith, Store Manager at Scotmid Laurencekirk said: “We are really pleased to have the defibrillator in our store. It’s a great comfort for the local community to know it’s there in case we ever need to use it. The training was fantastic and we all feel ready to help our customers and other people in the area in an emergency. ”
He added: “We are also delighted that Scotmid has been able to contribute £200 to Stars in the Sky to support their fundraising for extra defibrillators in the local area, following the tragic death of Amy and Harry Reid. It’s wonderful to see the whole community come together to help.”
Megan Mitchell, Chairperson for Star in the Sky said: “We’d like to say a massive thank you to Scotmid and to everyone in the community for their support of Stars in the Sky funding committee. I’d also like to thank the committee for all of their hard work and fundraising efforts so far. It’s wonderful that we can make something good come out of such a tragic event.”
Scotmid Co-operative has been working with the Scottish Ambulance Service since 2011 to install public access defibrillators in the communities in Scotland that need them most. This includes remote communities where it may take longer for an ambulance to reach, places where there are high instances of cardiac arrest and areas of high footfall. The Scottish Ambulance Service has also provided over 500 hours of training to over 200 Scotmid staff as part of the project.
Scotmid Co-operative was the first UK retailer to put defibrillators in a large number of its stores. 40 Scotmid and Semichem branches are now equipped with the life-saving machines, with more to be rolled out in the coming months.
Daren Mochrie, Director of Service Delivery, Scottish Ambulance Service, said: “The roll out of this public access defibrillator programme will make a positive contribution to safer and sustainable communities around the country. While we have world class ambulance response times in Scotland, we know that in cardiac cases every second counts and that equipping communities with basic life saving skills and equipment will further improve survival rates.”