NEW LIFE-SAVING COMMUNITY ASSET INSTALLED AT DARENTH VILLAGE HALL

Darenth Parish Council is pleased to announce that a new life-saving defibrillator has been installed at Darenth Village Hall, Ladywood Road.

Located externally at the main doors of the building, this device will make a real difference in an emergency situation and could save an adult or child’s life.

With statistics showing that more than 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur in the UK each year, coupled with the fact that less than 1 in 10 survive without the intervention of a defibrillator, the Parish Council was unanimous when considering match-funding for this essential equipment.

The Parish Council applied to the Department of Health and Social Care's (DHSC) Match-Funded Community Defibrillator Scheme and received £750.00 towards the cost of the fully automatic system which includes an external heated cabinet. This scheme has helped to fund over 2,000 publicly accessible defibrillators for communities across England and the Parish Council was delighted to qualify for funding.

The apparatus and associated equipment will be subject to regular status checks by Parish Council staff, and will also be registered with The Circuit, the national defibrillator network. The Circuit ensures that thousands of registered defibrillators are added to a centralised network for access by the emergency services.

Confirming the Parish Council’s commitment to resident safety Council Chairman, Councillor Nick Weavis said, “It is great to be able to install such an important piece of equipment, which we hope we will never have to use, but know is essential to the well being of our community.”