Banchory Area First Responders have been active in serving the local community for many years now, being called out by the Scottish Ambulance Service when there is an immediate threat to life through collapse or illness.

As part of that, we have been involved in purchasing and maintaining Public Accessible Defibrillators (PADs).

What started out as a commitment to keep regular checks on a couple of these PADs and a commitment to replace the batteries and electrodes as needed, has today grown into a much larger commitment: We now have 15 PADs we monitor, and with that many sets of batteries and electrodes to replace if used or expired- not an insignificant cost to our funds.

We have been extremely fortunate to have had fantastic support from the local community in terms of helping fund unexpected repairs, as well as contributions towards the ongoing costs, but the Defibrillators themselves, as well as the cabinets that protect them, are showing their age and if we wish to keep the level of access to this life saving equipment, then we need to look at how we can fund their replacements.

Banchory and the immediate area is very fortunate in having so many PADs available in an emergency. To lose any of these could well result in longer delay’s to life saving treatment.

Many of these are now 6-9 years old, with a predicted lifespan of around 10 years.

Warranty on these is 7 years and out of warranty repairs would be considerable. We are planning a rolling programme of replacement, but also need sufficient funds available to allow immediate purchase if needed before then to ensure we retain the community resilience these PADs provide.

As well as the PADs themselves, the protective storage cabinets are showing signs of wear and tear and while some only need new doors, upgrading to more robust cabinets is required in some cases.

To purchase a new PAD with the latest technology costs c. £ 1,500

To purchase a new protective cabinet costs c. £600

We are applying for funds from various grant schemes and asking for sponsorship from local organisations, but we also need public support to keep these defibrillators available for use and to be able to replace parts urgently when needed.

Not all people who collapse with a Cardiac Arrest will need the electrical shock the Defibrillator gives, but without the Defibrillator to analyse the heart and assess if there is chaotic activity it can shock, it needs to be there and attached to the patient. For every minute defibrillation (if needed) is delayed, then the likelihood of being discharged home from hospital reduces by 10%.

Some facts:

● Fewer than 1 in 10 people survive an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

● Around 7–8% of people in whom resuscitation is attempted survive to hospital discharge.

● Two of the most important factors which influence survival include the time between cardiac arrest and attempted cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and early defibrillation.

● Immediate initiation of CPR can double or quadruple survival from out-hospital cardiac arrest.

● Defibrillation within 3–5 minutes of collapse can produce survival rates up to 50–70%.

● Each minute of delay reduces the probability of survival to hospital discharge by 10%.

● Fewer than 2% of people have an automated external defibrillator (AED) deployed before the ambulance arrives.

Banchory First Responders operates under the auspices of Banchory Community Trust a registered Scottish Charity, and all funds raised will be ringfences for defibrillator purchase, maintenance and repair.