Mull and Iona Community Trust have added a fifteenth public access defibrillator to the network that they manage around the islands (Mull and Iona).
This new addition is in the former BT phone box at Gribun which has been decommissioned to be able to host the defibrillator. The defibrillator, its cabinet and the installation of the cabinet has been paid for with a donation from Jacqui Farquhar from Ballymeanach (she was known as Jacqueline MacFadyen when she was brought up there as a child).
MICT has “adopted” the phone box from BT through an arrangement with the Community Heartbeat Trust, a national charity that has agreement with BT for the electricity supply to the phone box to remain connected so that the cabinet can be heated to protect the defibrillator.
Each of the 15 defibrillators has a “guardian” who carries out a monthly check and then updates the online Scottish Ambulance Service database so that the emergency call handlers know it is functioning correctly, available for use and importantly its location, including a grid reference.
