Defibrillator donation is a boost for Dumfries Town Centre

Following an incident in their Dumfries Bureau, Dumfries and Galloway Citizens Advice Service (D&G CAS) has installed a publicly accessible defibrillator outside of their new Bureau on Irish Street.

“Following the incident in our bureau, we decided that we would train all of our staff, not just first aiders, would be given a basic level of training and that included using a defibrillator,” explains Emma Munro, Welfare Benefits Manager.

“We found that there weren’t any accessible defibrillators in this part of town, so placing one outside of our new bureau really underlines our commitment to Dumfries Town Centre.”

Terry Cullen, a Volunteer Adviser at D&G CAS has experienced a heart attack, “When I had my heart attack, my wife was told to get the nearest defibrillator, but didn’t tell her where it was. It took fifteen minutes to find the nearest one, so the more the merrier. They are life savers.”

The defibrillator has been donated by Ian Anderson of Anderson Fire Consultancy Ltd, “When you look around the Town Centre, there are a lack of defibrillators, which can save many, many lives. When someone has a cardiac arrest, it is imperative that they get some kind of intervention before the ambulance arrives, every second counts.

“The more defibrillators there are in the town, the better and as Terry is my Uncle, with a history of heart issues and he works here, I thought this was an ideal opportunity to give something back to the community.”

“We are very grateful to Ian for his kind donation,” D&G CAS Chief Executive Phil Stewart said, “Not only does this benefit the safety of our clients and staff in the bureau, it is a gift to the whole community and a valuable addition to Dumfries Town Centre.”