Tag Archives: defibrillators

A CALL has been made to have as many defibrillators as possible registered with an award-winning app that tells people where the nearest one is located.  Councillor Donna McGettigan tabled a motion at the December council meeting urging the authority to resister them with PulsePoint AED, a defibrillator location app, and to encourage community organisations to do the same. “This is a one-touch button app that will tell you where your nearest defibrillator is,” she said. “You don’t need to ring an ambulance. You don’t need to wait for them to get back to you to tell you where it is. You just do this at the touch of a button, so I really believe it will save lives the more places that they’re registered in.” “This is a multi-award winning app. It’s got the Garda Community Safety Award. You don’t need to be a nurse or a doctor, you can find out where it is and get the help …

DANISH midfielder Christian Eriksen inspired a motion at the local authority meeting his week, when members backed a call for funding for defibrillators and training for communities across Clare. Councillor John Crowe recalled the dramatic scenes at the Euro 2020 match against Finland last month, when the 29-year old suffered a cardiac arrest and was saved thanks to prompt intervention with a defibrillator. “The European Championships brought it home to everyone,” he said. “What happened to Christian Eriksen really highlighted the issue and showed what a defibrillator can do. The Minister for Health should be looking at a scheme to fund defibrillators and training and €1,700 for a club or village is a very small price to be looking at. We should write to the Department to seek money for communities. Every second family has heart problems going down the generations.” The Fine Gael member also recommended that all councillors receive training. The motion was seconded by Councillor Cillian Murphy. …

An ENNIS-based Councillor Mary Howard has called for stricter penalties for those who vandalise defibrillators. At a recent meeting of Clare County Council, she also requested that the Minister for Health ensure that all future publicly-accessible defibrillators be fitted with a sensor that would notify emergency services once it has been removed from its holder. Speaking about the vandalism of the items, Councillor Howard said, “Last December, we saw CCTV footage of a group of 16-year-olds in Arklow in County Wicklow pull a defibrillator off a wall and proceed to kick it back and forth, destroying the unit. “In January, a defibrillator was destroyed in Cork for the fourth time. The list goes on. These life-saving devices cost in the region of €2,500 to be replaced.” She said it would be important to have defibrillators fitted with devices that would discourage vandals. “In the future, I would like to see these units fitted with a SIM module and internal camera, …