North-west Sutherland community gym funds purchase of life saving equipment
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A VILLAGE gym in north-west Sutherland has secured two sets of essential life-saving equipment for its local community.
Thanks to funds from income and general fundraising, Kinlochbervie High School Community Gym have installed a pair of automated external defibrillator (AED) units at two different locations in the village.
The first has been installed at the gym itself, and the other at an out-of-village location. A third AED is already in situ at Kinlochbervie village hall.
Paula Macleod, admin team leader for North West Sutherland schools said: “We want our pupils, staff, gym users and visitors to feel safe and secure in the knowledge that even although we are a remote and rural school, if the worse should happen we are equipped and ready to help.
“As there is an outside defib just along from the high school at the village hall, we thought it would be good to place the other one further down towards Oldshoremore and Blairmore where there is a lot of summer footfall.”
The second defib found a home at Oldshoremore Retreats in Rhiconich. It has been installed in a temperature controlled cabinet and is available for public use if needed.
Angela Whitlock-Johnson, proprietor of Oldshoremore Retreats said: “We’ve been working closely with the community providing EMDR therapy, Clinical Hypnosis and Yoga Therapy for the past few months, often working with people with anxiety. We also have a number of visitors on site or passing by and so felt it was essential to have a defibrillator.
“We approached a couple of local charitable voluntary organisations who might sponsor us, so that we could apply for the funding and Scourie Community Development Company didn’t hesitate, so we submitted the application. We then struggled to purchase one, as there is a real shortage of them.
“This was when the local school sent out a message to say they wanted to relocate one of theirs to the wider community. We applied and were accepted so are indebted to the school because within 3 days, it was commissioned and working on site.”
