Mylander - Issue 86

19 Council Reports Myland gets more defibs Myland Community Council have had a long-term plan to site Community Defibrillators at strategic sites around the Myland area. These will all be available for the community to use 24 hours a day with access under the direction of the emergency services via a 999 call. The purchase of the first four units was unanimously agreed by the full Council at the November meeting at a cost of just under £6000. They will be arriving early in the spring; an actual delivery date will be confirmed soon. They will be housed in a steel box with keycode entry which will be given to someone by the 999 operators. The ambulance service has a list of the locations of almost all community defibrillators in the country. These defibrillators are automatic emergency defibrillators, often shortened to the term AED and once turned on these units talk you through exactly how to operate them and this is usually in conjunction with a 999 operator or they are available for Community First Responders to grab and go if they need them. Miller Motor Group on Bergholt Road has formally agreed to host the AEDs and I am very grateful to them for their co-operation in agreeing to host a unit and provide the electricity required to keep it at the correct temperature all year round. Discussions are still continuing with Queen Boudica school on Cowper Crescent and Camulos Academy on Whitmore about siting two more units at those locations. A 4th site has yet to be confirmed as this magazine went to press and I am actively looking at the best options to give a spread across our area. The long-term plan is for me to continue to look for suitable sites for the next batch of 4 which are likely to be purchased in the new financial year, starting in April 2021. I am the point of contact for the Council on this project on behalf of the Community Engagement Committee. If you feel that you have a location would be a suitable site please email me: [email protected] I am working closely with the Colchester Community First Responders and the East of England Ambulance Trust who will provide the maintenance for the defibrillators once they come into use.