Plea for town centre defibrillators after distressing High Street incident - The Evesham Observer

Plea for town centre defibrillators after distressing High Street incident

Evesham Editorial 25th Aug, 2017   0

AN IMPASSIONED plea has been made for defibrillators to be installed in the town centre after an elderly man suffered a cardiac arrest on the High Street.

Theresa Millward witnessed the distressing incident on Monday and told the Observer it highlighted the need for a defibrillator which could be used if something similar happened.

The concerned resident spoke out after the gentleman collapsed and was taken to the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch after treatment.

She said ‘no one knew’ where the nearest defibrillator and has urged council chiefs to clearly signpost where the life saving machines are in the town.




Theresa also hopes new ones will be installed to ensure one is available for future incidents.

“Wouldn’t it be ideal to have a defibrillator somewhere on the High Street with a sign so the public know there is one on hand if they need it?,” Theresa said.


“I don’t even know if there is a defibrillator in town at all and if there is it’s not very well sign posted. I think that needs to be brought to the attention of the town after what happened.

“I do feel very strongly about this now and the council needs to get onto it that we need a defibrillator in the town centre.

“The defibrillators walk you through it; it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to use one.”

Evesham Town Council confirmed it submitted a bid to Wychavon District Council for £5,000 from the New Homes Bonus cash pot to buy and install four defibrillators in and around Evesham.

If accepted by Wychavon, the proposed locations for the defibrillators are the entrance to the Riverside Shopping Centre, Market Place and next to the Co-Op on the High Street.

Speaking to the Observer, Wychavon chiefs said they were waiting on answers from the Town Council regarding questions about the application.

Once received, the bid will be passed to the Localism Panel who will make the final decision.

The authority also confirmed it did not currently hold a list of all the publicly accessible defibrillators.

Coun Gerry O’Donnell, Chairman of Evesham Vale Cardiac Rehab, told the Observer he asked Wychavon officers three months ago to compile a list of where defibrillators are located.

“The trouble is with defibs the public can access you can’t just stick them on a wall. They have to have codes to access them to stop vandalism and people trained to use them.

“But then again it’s not rocket science.

“I know Wychavon has used New Homes Bonus to install defibs in a number of villages, but as of yet none have been installed in the town centre.

“It would be great if there was a map, or even a website, to let the public know where the defibs are.”

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