Concerns over village defibrillator after man dies

Questions have been raised over the maintenance of the village's defibrillator

Concerns have been raised after a man died despite the use of a village defibrillator, which was subsequently suspected to have been defective.

Emergency services, who were called to Allendale, in Northumberland, on 16 August, used the on-site defibrillator to help the patient, but the machine was allegedly faulty and the 93-year-old died at the scene.

According to the British Heart Foundation, defibrillators should have a designated "defib guardian" who regularly checks the device to ensure it is fit for purpose.

The North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) has said it will look into the incident "and ensure that all procedures to maintain defibrillators are in place".

Defibrillators are mapped by a system known as The Circuit which can help ambulance services direct a bystander to the nearest device.

The NEAS told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the village's defibrillator was showing on the database as "emergency ready" so the attending crew had "deployed it accordingly".

'Ownership'

The incident has prompted questions over the defrillator's maintenance, and the maintenance of other machines in the area.

The devices are initially purchased by the county council, but councillor Colin Horncastle, for the South Tynedale ward, said the council had no control over their upkeep.

Mr Horncastle said the incident had brought to people's attention "that these devices need somebody to take ownership and maintain them properly".

"Unless, there is a guardian maintaining these devices, this isn't going to happen."

He added that any faulty equipment was "better off the streets", otherwise people would assume it was ready for use.

Northumbria Police are not treating the man's death as suspicious, but a report will be made for the coroner.

A public meeting is being held at the Kings Head pub in Allendale on Thursday to discuss the issue surrounding the village defibrillator.