Over the last 18 months many local individuals and groups in both Hendy and Pontarddulais have successfully raised money to purchase defibrillators. With the help of Anthony Hamilton-Shaw, his wife Sherilyn and the charity ‘My Cariad’ they have raised the necessary funding to provide local schools and communities with defibrillators and life saving training.
Defibrillators are vital in helping to save a person who has stopped breathing. If utilised as quickly as possible along with continued CPR they will help save lives. Sadly 8000 people suffer a cardiac arrest outside of a hospital environment each year in Wales. Currently only 3% are likely to survive however, with early bystander intervention utilising a publicly accessible defibrillator and performing CPR, this survival rate can be increased by as much as 64%.
In the last twelve months, eight brand new machines have been purchased through lottery funding with the help of My Cariad. There are machines located around the community and all machines should be registered with the 999 services.
Here is a local list of locations:
Llangennech Community Hall, situated next to the Bridge End Inn
Llangennech Infant School
Outside the Hendy Rugby Club clubhouse, available 24 hours
Hendy Post Office Iscoed Road
Hendy School
Fforest Post Office corner of Carmarthen Road and Llanedi Road (soon to become a 24 hour defib box being fitted during May)
The Llanedi Church Hall opposite Llanedi Church located outside for 24 hour service
Tafern Y Deri Pub Llanedi
Pontarddulais:
The Mid and West Wales Fire Service.
Talybont Surgery
Tesco’s Pontarddulais (every store across uk has one behind customer services)
Pontarddulais Library
The Mechanics Institute
Pontarddulais comprehensive school
The St John’s Hall
The Light House Coffee shop in Elim Church
The changing rooms in Coed Bach park used and accessed by Pontarddulais Football during training
The dental practise on St Teilo Street. Pontarddulais
Rugby Club club house on oak field street
As well as having fixed located defibrillators there are also some machines used as floaters kept by key individuals who carry them around when working with community groups. Pontarddulais Male Voice choir also own a Defibrillator which is a floater, it is kept by their secretary who is also a physio for the Bont rugby team and he’s the carnival committee chairman.
Hendy Football club also keep a floater, it travels between the changing rooms at Hendy pitch and the Muga in the park. It is kept and carried by the coaches to be used in an emergency during training or games. Following on from the success of the Hendy and Communities Parks Committee who secured lottery funding to purchase four for Hendy, with help from ‘My Cariad’, The Pontarddulais Town Council have also secured funding from the lottery to purchase four new defibrillators and the locations of these new defibrillators were discussed and decided by the Town Council at its May meeting.
These four machines were not included in the list above. Defibrillators are safe and easy to use, and many give audio instructions to the rescuer, during the process. Although training is not required when using a defibrillator in an emergency. ‘My Cariad’ welcomes the opportunity to provide Free Basic Life Support and Defibrillator awareness to members of the public. ‘My Cariad’ are proud to support the Hendy and Pontarddulais carnival again this year. Please pop along and visit them at their stall where a demonstration can be provided and discussions around setting up a community group training session would be welcomed.
‘My Cariad’ works closely with the Welsh Ambulance Service with many of its volunteers also working as paramedics with the service. They also work Mid and West Wales Fire & Rescue service. Thanks to My Cariad Mid and West Wales Fire Service now carry a Defibrillator on every fire service tender.
To find out where you nearest defibrillator is located or for further information regarding defibrillators, and how ‘My Cariad’ can help you please visit www.mycariad.org if you know of a defibrillator that we have not added to the location list then please advise Anthony so that it can be registered with the 999 service. During an emergency it is vital that members of the public dial 999, during this call the emergency operator will advise the caller the location of the nearest defibrillator.
