Defibriltors fitted in West Cork

Life-saving heart defibrillators are now available in garda stations across the county including Bantry, Bandon, Skibberean, Kinsale, Clonakilty, Castletownbere, and Kilbrittain.

It’s part of a cross agency initiative between the HSE, National Ambulance Service and An Garda Síochana. The HSE supplied the heart defibrillator devices, while full training co-ordination was conducted by representatives of the National Ambulance Service, local medical staff and trained instructors.

Inspector Brian Murphy said: “This project shows how, communication, co-operation and collaboration between all emergency services delivers for the communities we serve. We are delighted to support our colleagues in NAS, HSE and West Cork Rapid Response. Being part of and in the community is a key role of An Garda Siochana, and ensuring we have the skill set to assist the communities we operate in is vital.”

In total, 133 garda staff were fully trained as cardiac first responders and 12 gardaí were trained as instructors to carry out training sessions with other members. West Cork Rapid Response co-ordinated the training and provided essential support in training the trainers.

Gerry O’Dwyer, Group CEO of the South/South West Hospital Group, said: “The HSE and South/South West Hospital Group are delighted to team up with the National Ambulance Service and An Garda Síochana to install these life-saving pieces of equipment across Cork county. This initiative highlights how effective cross agency projects can be and we look forward to similar multi-agency partnership projects in the future.”