Maydown has new defibrillator 'boxed off'

Maydown Community Association on the outskirts of Derry has repurposed an iconic red telephone box into a defibrillator station.

Speaking to the Derry News, its chairperson, Martin McCartney, said receiving confirmation from the Community Heartbeat Trust, the new life-saving community asset had been officially registered, was like .'winning the pools.

The new defibrillator station was officially opened by Mayor Sandra Duffy on Thursday last, as a delighted local community watched on

Martin said the decision to repurpose Maydown’s public telephone box as a defibrillator station was first mooted early this year.

He added: “Our telephone box is in an ideal location for a defibrillator but, hopefully, we will never have to use it. It is positioned beside the dual carriageway on the Maydown Road, just before the Maydown Roundabout, as you come out of Derry heading in the Limavady direction. This is an extremely busy stretch of road.

“I had just heard about the shortage of defibrillators throughout the North and the North West in particular. Then I saw on social media that a lot of former telephone boxes in England, Scotland and Wales were being converted into different things.

“Some places were using them as wee community libraries, where people could leave and borrow books. I also noticed some places were using them as defibrillator stations.

“So, I got the prices and, fortunately, at the time the Northern Ireland Housing Executive had some funding available for projects which would benefit communities. When we got the Housing Executive funding, I contacted the Community Heartbeat Trust, which advises people who want to install defibrillators in old telephone boxes,” said Martin.

After a bit of a Covid related delay, the defibrillator was installed in Maydown and Martin received confirmation it had been registered with all of the emergency services across the North and England, Scotland and Wales.

“We are now on the defibrillator map,” said Martin, “so, in the event of an emergency, the Maydown defibrillator will show up if anyone needs it.

“Really I just want to make more people aware it is there. There are also two defibrillators in nearby Strathfoyle, one in the main shopping area and one at Enagh Youth Forum.

“I would encourage as many areas as possible to re-use old phone boxes, especially as defibrillator stations. As far as I know the public telephone boxes are being done away with and it only costs a fiver for a community group to take them over.

“BT will come along and take it out of action and you just pay someone to install the defibrillator. I am delighted we have been able to do this in Maydown. We have preserved our historic red telephone box and now have a potentially life-saving addition to the community.”