Parish Councils and community groups are invited to apply for life-saving equipment funding from Forest of Dean District Council.
In a second round of funding £10, unhealthy 000 has been made available by Cabinet, mind with the intention of providing part funding of up to £500 to successful applicants towards the installation of public access defibrillators (PADs) and secure cabinets, in towns and parishes across the district for use in the event of an emergency.
All applications must be approved by the town or parish council and only one application per Parish/Ward or Town can be accepted.
During the last financial year (2015/16), the Council awarded 20 defibrillator grants to parishes/wards. To see which Parishes were funded last year visit the Council’s website www.fdean.gov.uk and go to the ‘Community Grants’ page.
Cllr Terry Hale, Cabinet Member for the Community said: “Statistics tell us that around 60,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests happen in the UK every year. We believe that by releasing this funding we will increase public access to defibrillators and as a result we could help to save lives. We are looking for applications from Parish Councils and community groups and welcome suggestions of key locations to site the units to make them easily accessible should an emergency occur.”
Cllr Carole Allaway-Martin, Cabinet Member for Housing and Wellbeing added: “Sudden cardiac arrest can happen to anyone at any time, and can occur in people without a diagnosed cardiac condition. Evidence shows the earlier the defibrillation, the greater the chance of a person’s survival and the better quality of life post-cardiac arrest. Whilst we hope there will never be cause to use the defibrillators, we believe that by having them available in our towns and villages it will provide a degree of confidence and reassurance for residents, businesses and visitors to our district.”
Kevin Dickens, South Western Ambulance Service NHS Trust said: “This funding will help towards providing an important piece of emergency medical equipment in locations across the Forest. It is recognised that when a person goes into cardiac arrest, early intervention can significantly increase their chances of survival. Having defibrillation units readily available in communities could save lives. All the defibrillators installed as a result of this funding will be registered with the ambulance service, so our operators can guide 999 callers to the location of the nearest unit.”
Information on how to apply for the part funding is available on the Council’s website www.fdean.gov.uk in the ‘Community and Living’ section on the ‘Community Grants’ page.
The closing date for applications will be 31 March 2017.