New 24/7 Defibrillators installed in Congleton

Congleton Lions working with Congleton Partnership have jointly funded the provision and installation of two more public access defibrillators across the town centre.

Working together to support the local community, the groups used monies raised through ongoing fundraising activities to purchase the life-saving heart devices.

Located on the ground floor of Congleton library, off the bus station and outside the public conveniences at Congleton Park, these will be the third and fourth 24x7 accessible defibrillators to be installed by the Lions and the Partnership since working with North West Ambulance Service (NWAS). The prime locations were chosen due to the high footfall of residents and visitors and with both being well known landmarks in the town.

Prior to the unveiling, it was discovered that the library defibrillator had been removed. A spokesperson for the town council said “A customer at the White Lion pub felt unwell, and an ambulance was called. The operator told the caller to fetch the defibrillator from the library.  Fortunately, the device wasn’t needed but it’s reassuring to know if there’s an emergency in the town centre, a 24/7 defibrillator is available close by.”

The defibrillators were officially put in place by Congleton Lions President Pat Mart and Congleton Town Mayor Councillor Denis Murphy. Lions President Pat said: “This is truly Congleton Lions working in partnership for the benefit of the local community with the Town Council and Congleton Partnership. We are delighted to be increasing the number of defibrillators and are busy working on future plans for more across the town.”

Congleton Mayor, Cllr Denis Murphy said: “I would like to thank the Congleton Lions for all the work they have put into this project, and I would urge local people to support their next fundraising event which is the Lions Duck race on the 8^th September (Covid restrictions permitting) so that even more funds can be raised to help with local projects such as this. Hopefully the defibrillators will never be needed, but it is comforting to know we have many sited at various locations across the town.”

The NWAS have been supportive of the project, representatives from the community resuscitation team were present at the unveiling. They are working on future plans with the Lions and Congleton Partnership to run defibrillator awareness training for members of the public.

Congleton Chronicle prints the location of defibrillators in Congleton on the back page of the paper every week and a list can be found on the Congleton Town Council website.

Pictured - Janet Graham (Northwest Ambulance Service), Cllr Denis Murphy (Town Mayor), Pat Mart (Lions President), Mike Smith (Chair of Congleton Partnership) and Sam Sellars (Northwest Ambulance Service).