New signs for life-saving defibrillators
Life-saving defibrillators in Newport will be better signposted as part of a new discussion on the devices in the town.
Councillor Lyn Fowler proposed the purchase of a new defibrillator to be housed on or near the Guildhall, in High Street, during the last meeting of Newport Town Council.
The town will soon have 12 of the devices, which deliver an electric shock to the heart as treatment for a variety of irregular heartbeats.
But the discussion of a new defibrillator raised concerns about signage in the town.
Councillor Fowler said: "A member of the public said we should have a defibrillator in the area of the Guildhall, with that being the central town building, but because there is a listed building there is an issue with it.
"It opened the discussion that there are 12 already. I am trying to find out how many we should have. There seems to be a lot, but there isn't that many at that end of town."
Locations
Councillor Tony Forrester has already approached shops in the town centre about directional signage to defibrillator locations.
"Councillor Forrester was quite right that we need signposts," Councillor Fowler said. "It says on the Newport Town Council website where they are, but we need this kind of information out there.
"The signage will go in shop windows, but there were suggestions of having bigger signs as well.
"It is about making the town as safe as possible for people."
When Councillor Fowler was mayor, she helped a number of groups to learn how to use CPR in tandem to more defibrillators being installed in the town.
Training
She said: "While someone goes to find the defibrillator, someone else must keep you going.
"It has raised the question of rather than spending money on another defibrillator, do we spend more money on getting people through the training?"
The town council, who met on March 13, voted to leave a discussion of a new defibrillator to a later date.
Councillors Fowler, Graham Foster and Tim Nelson will provide some costings for equipment, design and concepts for signs.
They also voted to allocate up to £100 for purchase of signs for shop windows in the town.
