Community Defibrillators

Ditton Minors FC has now completed the final Public Access Defibrillator (PAD or AED) installation across Ditton & Larkfield with help from Edison Swan Electrical who donated their materials and time for free.  These devices save lives, there is no doubt about that.   We set out last year with a goal of fundraising to deploy 3 devices, thanks to the generosity and support of members of the Club, residents and councillors, other community organisations and businesses – we’ve now been able to deploy 4 new defibrillators in our area.

These defibrillators are all secured in key coded, heated cabinets which can be accessed and unlocked using a code provided by ‘999’ emergency operators, providing a ready-to-use device for somebody who is suffering from a cardiac arrest. 

Lauren Guy, Digital Media Officer for London Hearts – the leading national defibrillator charity whose aim is to increase AED availability across the country provided her support for the newly available community assets: "Less than one in ten people survive an out of hospital cardiac arrest. But bystander CPR and using a defibrillator before an ambulance arrives helps give someone who has had a cardiac arrest the best possible chance of survival.

Ideally, nobody should ever be more than 100m away from a defibrillator, and we’re delighted that thanks to the hard work of Ditton Minors FC, Ditton now has 4 more defibrillators that have been placed strategically throughout the village for use in an emergency. We always hope they’re never needed, but we do hope that they can provide some peace of mind for the community that they are available just in case.”

The defibrillators are located across Ditton in various locations that have been selected based on their footfall, proximity to other defibrillators and uses of the areas.  We recommend you familiarise yourself with their locations so that, if you do ever need to use them, you know where they are.

1) Ditton Community Centre (https://w3w.co/heightens.little.hoping (Open Map)) - 24/7

2) Old Recreation Ground / New Road Recreation Ground (https://w3w.co/atlas.respected.shirt (Open Map)) - 24/7

3) Ditton Church Centre (https://w3w.co/novel.evidently.challenge (Open Map)) - 24/7

4) Brookfield Junior School (https://w3w.co/operated.awoke.maps (Open Map)) - 8.30-4 during school times

Inside the cabinets, you’ll find a new Mindray C1A automatic defibrillator.  These modern devices require zero training and will talk you through all the steps.  You’ll also find a magnetic removable torch in case it’s dark, prep kit and quick help card.

Simply open the lid and the device will turn itself on, place the pads on the person’s skin in the positions shown in the pictures and listen to the instructions provided.   If the person is a child under the age of 8 years old, you can flick the switch to children mode.

The device will check for the hearts rhythm and provide a beat for you to perform CPR to.  When it’s time to shock, the device will tell you to stop chest compressions and stand clear.  All you need to do is follow the instructions which will be spoken out loud for you.

A big thank you to all of our sponsors in helping to achieve our goal, which on top of the donations from local residents and members of the club pushed us across the line. 

If you’ve been inspired by this community achievement and want to fundraise for a defibrillator for your area and are after a bit of advice, feel free to reach out to the Club or alternatively London Hearts are always happy to help!