COMMUNITIES throughout Monmouthshire are moving forward with plans to place defibrillators in key public areas in rural areas.

With the overall cost of a defibrillator to be between £1,000 and £2,000, fundraising drives are underway.

Placement of defibrillators are a step towards countering the issue of delayed ambulance response in rural communities. Even if the target time of eight minutes is met by paramedics, it is often too long to help someone in cardiac arrest.

But if cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is started and defibrillation carried out before paramedics arrive, survival rates improve from less than five percent to over 50 percent.

When 999 is called and a cardiac arrest is suspected, the caller will then be told where to find the nearest available defibrillator and the access code.

The Mitchel Troy community are planning to place a defibrillator at the Village Hall. Fundraising has already begun, with the Mitchel Troy and Dingestow community councils committing £250 each.

At the next monthly coffee morning on Saturday 20th February at Mitchel Troy Village Hall, the campaign to raise the rest of the funds will begin.

The coffee morning will also see Des Hughes from NHS Wales provide a demonstration on defibrillator use, and advice on the best way forward. Anyone interested is encouraged to attend.

In Llangattock-Vibon-Avel, a public meeting was held in The Hendre on Tuesday 26th January 2015 to launch the ‘Village Life’ community project.

The project aims to install publicly accessible defibrillators at suitable locations in the community and to train people in their use as part of CPR.

Around 60 people attended, coming from Maypole, St Maughans, Rockfield, Llangattock, Newcastle and The Hendre.

The broader long-term aim is to prove social integration and a sense of community well-being by getting people involved, trained in first aid and able to help each other in a crisis.

The meeting noted the potential option for part-funding from selected charities, but the need for additional fundraising was highlighted.

The project proposes to use redundant village phone boxes to house defibrillators, with the advantage of a central location and electricity supply.

Alternatives such as bus shelters, village halls or schools have also been highlighted, with the Rolls of Monmouth Golf Club planning to install a public access defibrillator at their clubhouse. For more information on this project, email the project secretary Tom Pitts-Tucker, at [email protected]