Pontypridd Community organisations raise funds to bring three new defibrillators to Pontypridd Town Centre

Pontypridd town centre is now home to three new defibrillators thanks to the Welsh Government, Your Pontypridd BID, Pontypridd Town Council, Pontypridd Neighbourhood Watch and Pontypridd Neighbourhood Policing Team.

After being inspired the by Pontypridd Neighbourhood Watch grab bags project, which involves twelve bags situated across the town ready to grab and use in response to accidents in the town centre; Save a Life Cymru Community Co-ordinator Haden Tipples contacted the Pontypridd Neighbourhood Policing Team. They arranged a walkaround the town centre to identify the defibrillators in place to support the grab bags, Your Pontypridd BID and Pontypridd Neighbourhood Watch were invited and learned about the importance of having defibrillators at regular points throughout the town.

There were a number of gaps identified on the walkaround and three locations were chosen to increase better coverage of defibrillators in the town centre. The Your Pontypridd BID Board agreed to fund the costs of two new defibrillator cabinets through their ‘A Safer Pontypridd’ budget, to be placed at Specsavers on Taff Street and next to Westmore Insurance on Mill Street. Save a Life Cymru provided two new defibrillators for the town centre, and thanks to funding from Your Pontypridd BID, Pontypridd Town Council and Pontypridd Neighbourhood Watch, the BID arranged with a local electrician, Electraplus Contracting Ltd to install new defibrillator cabinets to house two new defibrillators. The cabinet which was in place at the now former HSBC building has also been re-located to The Skinny Dog on Broadway to house the third defibrillator. All three defibrillators are now in place and ready to use in case of emergencies in Pontypridd town centre.

Professor Len Nokes, Chair of Save a Life Cymru said:

“Save a Life Cymru is delighted to have been involved in securing two new defibrillators for Pontypridd Town Centre. We know that a person’s only chance of surviving a cardiac arrest depends on a bystander acting quickly, by calling 999, starting CPR and using a defibrillator.  A cardiac arrest can happen suddenly, to anyone, at any age, at any time, and having defibrillators located in central areas can be lifesaving.

 “You don’t need any training to use a defibrillator, but you can build-up your confidence by taking a few minutes to watch our CPR and defibrillation awareness film, just search for the  Save a Life Cymru website.

“These defibrillators are important to everyone in your community, so look after them, respect them, they could one day save the life of someone you know and love.”

James Payne, BID Manager at Your Pontypridd Business Improvement District, said:

“We are extremely proud as an organisation representing the businesses in the town to have helped to bring three new defibrillators to Pontypridd town centre as part of this amazing collaboration with other community organisations, we are committed to making Pontypridd a safe town for visitors, residents and our levy payers and having more defibrillators in the town centre will enable our town centre businesses and emergency services to respond to urgent situations”

Pontypridd Neighbourhood Policing Team has been involved in the project since the beginning. PCSO Lisa Banfield said:

“We are incredibly fortunate to be part of this journey and the new defibrillators will be a great asset to the local community.  The placement of new defibrillators in the town now empowers the whole community to deal with medical situations more competently and confidently.  Having that quick access to defibrillators can make a significant difference to a person’s chances of survival in an emergency situation.”

The new defibrillators were placed in their new cabinets by Pontypridd Town Mayor, Cllr. Desmond Paul who said:

“I am delighted with the amount of support there has been from the BID, South Wales Police, Pontypridd Neighbourhood Watch, Save a Life Cymru and Pontypridd Town Council for this project of installing three defibrillators in the town centre”

“It’s great to see everybody join to benefit the community in this way. Early use of defibrillators and effective CPR can make the difference between life and death, if someone is in cardiac arrest, this is a major achievement for the town and for everyone involved”.

Gemma Jones, Secretary of Pontypridd Neighbourhood Watch who have delivered first aid training for residents and workers in the town, ICE Cards and supplied emergency grab bags in Pontypridd said:

“Pontypridd Town Centre Neighbourhood Watch are delighted to see additional public access defibrillators now available in the town centre. We are proud to have contributed to making Pontypridd a safer place to visit. We would like to thank the businesses and community of Pontypridd for their continued support”.