5. Welsh Conservatives Debate: Access to defibrillators

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:59 pm on 15 September 2021.

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Photo of Heledd Fychan Heledd Fychan Plaid Cymru 3:59, 15 September 2021

I would hope that there will be no disagreement today across the Chamber on this very important issue, and I will not repeat very valid points made. I echo Janet's calls in terms of that register. I think that is crucial. When you Google at the moment some areas in South Wales Central, I know of some defibs that exist but you cannot find them anywhere. Making sure that everybody is aware of those locations, especially on a local level, is crucially important, because you might rush to Google, but if you can't even find it there, I then think we have a major problem, especially when the emergency services aren't either aware. 

I just wanted to raise as part of this debate today one thing that was raised with me last week in relation to current defibrillators within South Wales Central, and the issue that some are attached to banks and that those branches have now closed. Similarly, some are attached to some offices in town centres, also which have been closed either during COVID as people work from home, or have now closed permanently as people make the shift to work from home. Therefore, if I may return to the point in terms of registering these so that they can be maintained and so on, because the worst thing that could happen is for someone to reach that defib and that it's not working either. So, it's one thing to invest, but we must have that long-term plan, because often the knowledge about these defibs is in someone's head—someone who's passionate, who's been fundraising in the community around this—and if we are to maintain that network, it is about ensuring that they are maintained, that they're useable, also that the visibility is there. So, it's really a plea for us all to work together to ensure that these are in every community, that they should be in every sports club and so on, and I think Janet's suggestion in terms of each school is also a very valid point, although those can, of course, be very far from communities and not be as accessible as some of our town centres. Therefore, I hope we could all work together to ensure that we do address this so that we are able to save as many lives as possible in this act. Thank you.