New county Longford register of defibrillators to be set up
A new countywide register showing the locations of defibrillators is to be set up, a meeting heard last week.
Fianna Fáil Cllr Ureumu Adejinmi led calls at last week's monthly county council meeting for a new database to be set up following talks with Civic Defence officials.
She said while it was imperative communities up and down the county boasted the potentially life saving apparatus, equal weight, she added needed to be placed on ensuring people knew of their locations in the event of an emergency.
“I think it’s important to know where we have defibrillators around the county so that in the event its needed people are aware of where they are which could be the difference in saving a life,” she said.
Fianna Fáil group leader Cllr Seamus Butler echoed those sentiments and called on council executives to reach out to community and sporting bodies to aid that move.
“It would be great and the ideal thing would be if we had a map we could look up on our phones instantly,” he said.
“But in lieu of that if we (council) write out to all the community groups including the GAA, we could get a fairly comprehensive list by town or by district.”
Longford County Council Cathaoirleach Cllr Turlough McGovern said the suggestion could not be more timely, adding: “It’s alright having a defibrillator there, it’s a different story in terms of knowing how to use it.”
Nora O'Farrell, senior executive officer with Longford County Council said the local authority were fully supportive of the proposal.
She said the council would provide an opportunity to community, sporting and voluntary groups to register the location of defibrillators. with an invitation to register the location of those defibrillators being published on the council social media platforms and on the council website over the coming weeks.