In 2012, the British Coatings Federation partnered with BT and the Community HeartBeat Trust in a nationwide scheme to install life-saving defibrillators in rural phone boxes.
Dogmersfield is delighted to become the latest in a long list of Parish Councils to take advantage of this scheme for the benefits of residents and visitors to the parish.
Dogmersfield adopted their iconic red phone box for just £1 some years ago and has now allocated the necessary funds to install a defibrillator, which can deliver vital medical treatment in the first crucial minutes following a cardiac arrest. Dogmersfield Parish Council wish to thank Councillor David Simpson from Hampshire County Council who helped support this scheme with a generous grant towards to the costs and PPG Architectural Coatings Ltd who have offered to provide free paint to renovate the phone box.
Following a cardiac arrest the chances of survival drop dramatically every minute. The UK Resuscitation Council recommends that a defibrillator should be available when medical treatment is more than five minutes away, which would include most rural locations in the UK. Inside the phone box, in place of the telephone unit, the defibrillator is housed in a lockable steel box. When someone calls 999, they will be told there is a defibrillator in the local phone box, and will be given the code to open the box. Once the electrode pads are attached to a casualty, the defibrillator will identify if a ‘shock’ is needed and will instruct the rescuer using step-by-step voice instructions.
The community of Dogmersfield now have this vital equipment on hand if ever needed.