A VITAL piece of equipment which could save someone suffering a cardiac arrest has been installed in Bowling.

The defibrillator, installed on a house wall in the centre of the village, will be easily accessible for the public at any time, day or night.

Money to buy the equipment – the first of its type in Bowling – was raised by the community, and villagers have now been trained in how to use it in an emergency.

The training was carried out by Sue Palmer and Sheenah Nelson, Heartstart co-ordinator at Helensburgh Garelochside Rotary.

Sheenah told the Reporter: “Heartstart supporter Peachy Trainer, working with friends in the community, has done a wonderful job in fund-raising to provide Bowling with this vital piece of life saving equipment.

“Peachy and his fund-raisers have made this possible so that in future, should an emergency arise, they now have the skills to put it into action.”

The public access defibrillator (PAD) is on the wall at 32 Dumbarton Road, the home of Sidney Kingsbury, who offered to host the cabinet.

The defibrillator is registered with the Scottish Ambulance Service who can direct a member of the public to its location.

Meanwhile, staff at the Fountain Cafe in Alexandria and their customers raised funds for a PAD for the community which has been located at the cafe, and another has been located at the Abbotsford Hotel where staff have undergone training.

The Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Strategy, launched by the Scottish Government in March 2015, aims to train 500,000 members of the public to perform CPR by March 2020.

Sheenah said: “There is a need to raise the awareness through education, campaigns and other initiatives in order to increase the likelihood that members of the public recognise sudden cardiac arrest and quickly dial 999.”

She praised West Dunbartonshire Council’s Defibrillator Awareness Campaign to inform the public of their nearest PAD, and also for placing further defibrillators in the community.

Sheenah added: “To date, our charity has trained more than 2,300 people and, with our partners, have placed more than 130 PADs in the community.

“This has resulted in 12 lives being saved to date.”

People wanting to learn CPR techniques are being invited to a training event organised by West Dunbartonshire Council on Saturday, November 24 in the Waterfront Parish Church, Clydebank, from 12 noon until 3pm.