Edinburgh’s walking footballers have raised almost £1400 to purchase a defibrillator as part of the St John and the City Defibrillator Project.
The easy-to-use units can prove vital in the event of someone suffering a heart attack and so far the worthwhile project has seen defibrillators placed at some of Scotland’s most popular tourist destination, such as the Esplanade, the Garrison Office, and at the One-o-Clock Gun.
They have already been used to save lives.
The money for this one was raised from the raffle of a football supplied by the SFA as well as personal donations. It will be used to buy a defibrillator in a wall mounted box which will be installed in a location chosen by St John and the City.
Players from the established Edinburgh Clubs, Hearts, Edinburgh City and The Oriam all entered the draw which was made by Ann Budge.
Veteran Hearts 56 goalkeeper David Barr said: “When I was at Hampden at the end of last year for the Walking Football Scotland AGM all the representatives from the various clubs were presented with a new match ball by the SFA.
“I decided recently that it would be a good idea to try and raise the funds for the St John and the City campaign. You may have noticed the yellow boxes in prominent places in town.
“This was in recognition of the fact that a couple of our guys have had their lives saved with one of these machines.
“The raffle was open to all the players at Hearts WF, Edinburgh City WF & The Oriam WF. We also had some very kind larger donations from individuals from all three venues for which we are very grateful and has got us near to our target so quickly.
“Mrs Ann Budge kindly agreed to complete the draw at Tynecastle after one of our Tuesday session. Congratulations to Peter Craig from the ECWF who won the ball.
“The fund has almost reached the £1400.00 target with some kind players offering to boost the figure over the line if required.
“This would not have been possible without the help of the lads selling the tickets at the various venues so a big thank you to Jimmy Bremner, Alan Thomson & David Fairgrieve.
“We plan to have a handing over ceremony when we have the equipment delivered. This includes the wall mounting box required.
“This will be done with the St John representatives present to receive the equipment.
“We intend to have the box engraved with the plaque reading, Donated by the walking footballers of Edinburgh.”
Out of hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is a significant healthcare challenge in Scotland. Approximately 3,500 people undergo attempted resuscitation each year after OHCA, but currently only around 1 in 20 survive to hospital discharge.
Defibrillation works in synergy with CPR, and is most effective the earlier it is performed. Delivering a defibrillatory electrical shock to the heart within 3-5 minutes of collapse can produce survival rates as high as 75%.
Businesses, voluntary organizations, civic institutions and individuals – to be known as Donors – will provide funding for public access defibrillators.
The defibrillators will be placed in strategic sites, such as churches, community centres, bus and tram stops and train stations – known as Hosts – across Edinburgh, taking into account the volume of people in the immediate vicinity.
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
