Ayrshire bowling club at the heart of their community
An East Ayrshire bowling club has installed a new piece of equipment they hope may save a life in an emergency.
Dunlop Bowling Club is now home to a Public Access Defibrillator, which can help save someone’s life in the event of cardiac arrest – when the heart stops beating in a normal rhythm.
St John Scotland supported the club to install the device through our Community Defibrillator Scheme, which aims to increase access to defibrillators across the country.
Chair of St John Scotland’s Ayrshire & Arran team, Jess Duncan, said: “Around 70 people each week in Scotland have a cardiac arrest, yet sadly, only one in ten survive. Starting CPR as soon as possible, and having easy access to a defibrillator, will give thee person the best possible chance of a good outcome. So we’re delighted to have been able to support Dunlop Bowling Club to install this defibrillator, and to welcome club members to our recent CPR training session, so they can be ready to save a life should they need to.”
The defibrillator has been installed on the outside wall of the club house, and is available 24/7 for any member of the public to use in an emergency.
President of Dunlop Bowling Club, Douglas Reid, said: “We see ourselves very much as a community club, and it is extremely reassuring to know that in the case of an emergency, this equipment will now be available to the wider community of Dunlop."
St John Scotland has worked with several other Ayrshire communities in recent months to provide free CPR training and support them to install defibrillators. They are keen to hear from more community groups who are interested in working together to save lives – for more information please contact us at defibs@stjohnscotland.org.uk