Westmuir Defibrillator

In early 2019 a group of volunteers from the village embarked on a project to purchase a defibrillator for the Community with a view to locating it in the village, offering access to anyone living locally.

The Volunteer Group, in collaboration with Community Heartbeat Trust, purchased a defibrillator which was subsequently fitted inside the newly refurbished Telephone Kiosk beside the Shoppie, giving the Kiosk a new lease of life and purpose!

With a donation of paint from The Crown Decorating Centre in Dundee and the repainting carried out without charge by a local painter and decorator, the newly fitted defibrillator was ready to be registered with the Ambulance Service and be confirmed as ‘Live’ by 22nd July 2019.

Anyone interested in joining the Defibrillator Group can provide their contact details on the ‘Contact Us’ section on this website.

The Community Council representative at the time had received a monetary bequest from the family of a local man, which greatly boosted fundraising efforts to obtain a defibrillator. The volunteer group subsequently set up a crowdfunding page to raise the balance of funds needed, and with a further successful application for ‘Matched Funding’ from Angus Council, the Group were able to proceed with the project.

A well-attended defibrillator launch event took place on 26th July 2019 and since then, several demonstration / awareness events have taken place in the Village Hall to provide training to residents in the use of a Defibrillator. The last event being a Heartstart Discovery Training session to learn CPR skills and awareness of using an AED in March 2023.

There are annual costs associated with having a defibrillator located in the Village, and the Group that look after the CPAD welcome any donations to help cover annual maintenance charges of £162.00, being for Insurance, (public liability, theft and damage), replacement pads, batteries etc.

To ensure accounting transparency in recording defibrillator income and expenditure, defibrillator funds are held in a separate sub-fund as part of a larger Trust, (known as an umbrella fund or scheme), which is managed by the Westmuir Community Development Trust (WCDT).

To comply with insurance regulations, two members from the Volunteer Group share a rota to check that the defibrillator is operational and update the online Governance System to report on site checks. We welcome anyone from the Community with a few minutes of free time to engage with the volunteer group if they feel they can help look after the Defibrillator and assist in future fundraising activities. Thanks are extended to those who commit to checking the defibrillator weekly and to Susan Kettles, who voluntarily cleans the Defibrillator Kiosk as required.

We are fortunate to have this asset in our Village for use by anyone that may need it, and with weekly checks to ensure all is well, our defibrillator will continue to be accessible to anyone in the Community who may require such assistance and for any local emergency that may arise.