Defibrillator is gifted to the people of Lisburn

The City of Lisburn, as part of its designation as a Heart City, has accepted a defibrillator gifted by Sheila Osborne, whose life was saved after she suffered a heart attack at home.
By The Newsroom
Published 11th Mar 2015, 10:47 BST
Pictured at the unveiling of the 24/7 public access defibrillator on the Ivan Davis Pavilion in Wallace Park are members of Lisburn City Council, Sheila Osborne and her family, who donated the defibrillator; Art Kernan, Defib4kiz; Paul Givan MLA and Ivan Davis.Pictured at the unveiling of the 24/7 public access defibrillator on the Ivan Davis Pavilion in Wallace Park are members of Lisburn City Council, Sheila Osborne and her family, who donated the defibrillator; Art Kernan, Defib4kiz; Paul Givan MLA and Ivan Davis.
Pictured at the unveiling of the 24/7 public access defibrillator on the Ivan Davis Pavilion in Wallace Park are members of Lisburn City Council, Sheila Osborne and her family, who donated the defibrillator; Art Kernan, Defib4kiz; Paul Givan MLA and Ivan Davis.

Her daughter Pauline carried out CPR as advised by a 999 emergency call handler, which her son Eoin had phoned. He relayed the instructions to his mum. Sheila was then treated with a defibrillator when the ambulance personnel were let in by her middle grandson Sam.

The life-saving device is located on the Ivan Davis Pavilion in Wallace Park. Sheila presented the defibrillator along with her daughter and grandsons.

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Councillor Margaret Tolerton, Chair of the Council’s Heart City Committee, accepting the defibrillator, said: “After her personal experience Sheila wishes to play her part in helping to save lives of people using Wallace Park, which was identified as a suitable location for the defibrillator.

“I am delighted to accept this generous gift along with Alderman Paul Porter on behalf of the people of Lisburn. Defibrillators are invaluable in helping to save the lives of those who suffer a cardiac incident. The Council, like Sheila, hopes it will not need to be used but is grateful for its presence.”

As Northern Ireland’s first Heart City, the Council will be undertaking a number of awareness raising initiatives on the importance of a healthy heart and treatments.

To date events have included a primary school dodgeball tournament and a conference attended by local community groups, businesses and statutory agencies.

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Alderman Paul Porter, Chairman of the Council’s Leisure Services Committee, added: “The Council over the past few years has provided defibrillators and training to local sports clubs to ensure that those who undertake sports may have a defibrillator present and suitably trained club members should a player experience a heart attack.

To have a simple-to-use defibrillator available in one of our popular parks is a natural next step to ensuring the protection of the people of Lisburn.”

Sheila received the defibrillator from HeartSine, which made the presentation after hearing her personal story.

“As a Northern Ireland company, HeartSine is delighted to have our AED placed in Wallace Park,” said Hugh Hennessy, Commercial Director at HeartSine Technologies. “It’s our belief that all communities, like Lisburn, should be heart safe with public access defibrillators readily available to its residents.”

Related topics:LisburnCouncil