Defibrillator – Update
After much debate RMNF Trustees decided not to adopt the phone box in Catley Lane Head.
Our forum would have had to take on the costs and responsibility for insurance, maintenance and repair (which would have to be in accordance to industry guidelines), and we would NOT have got title to the land beneath the phone box.
We would also have required volunteers to look after the cleanliness of the phone box and to undertake the governance requirements for any installed equipment (the defibrillator).
The main reason the phone box was identified to house a defibrillator, was the provision of an unmetered power supply, required to keep the defibrillator charged and warm. The contract to adopt the phone box did not guarantee a supply of electricity in perpetuity and in the event of the supply being withdrawn or a breakdown, a separate power supply would need to have been arranged. This could take up to £1800 to effect and would have bankrupted our forum.
Vandalism was another issue we considered. The cabinet for the proposed defibrillator was not lockable and the cost of any damage, decommissioning of the phone box, disconnecting the power supply, etc. would have had to be covered by the forum.
There is, however, still an opportunity to apply for a defibrillator if someone is willing to provide a location (outside wall of a house) and a free supply of electricity. Please email: info@RMNF.org.uk if you are willing to do this and we will put you in touch with the appropriate people.