Mindless vandals have damaged a life-saving defibrillator by ripping it off the wall, stamping on it and discarding it over a fence.
The incident took place around 18:30 last night (Wednesday) at Downside Community Centre’s Isobel Cafe on Pan Estate, Newport.
Police are now reviewing CCTV footage in a bid to identify those responsible for the despicable act, which has left a community at risk.
Every second that goes by – day and night – there may be a need for a defibrillator to be used to help save the life of a local resident. But thanks to the act of at least 1 individual, that help is now unavailable. The nearest defibrillator is at Morrisons, a significant distance away and certainly out of the 3 minute window.
Louise Walker, Head of the Isle of Wight Ambulance Training & Community Response Services (ATCoRS) has said:
“I’m appalled that anyone would do such a thing to a live saving device. I can only think that the individual(s) that carried out the vandalism had no idea just how important the defibrillator was to the local community.
“Please can I ask all our Public Access Defibrillator sites to be extra vigilant and help us to ensure that the hundreds of devices we have on the Island are kept safe and ready for use”.
In the event of an out of hospital cardiac arrest it is essential a defibrillator is applied to the casualty within the first 3 minutes as this will help increase their chance of survival from less than 7% to as much as 74%.
Anyone with any information should contact Police on 101. Information can also be given anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
