A NEW Forest village has officially unveiled its public access defibrillator, after it was used by a doctor at a medical emergency.

A man attending the annual Remembrance Sunday wreath laying service at Burley War Memorial on Sunday collapsed and was attended to by an off-duty doctor, who called for the defibrillator – which had not yet been officially launched – to be brought to the scene in case it was needed before the ambulance arrived.

The device was not used, but if the man had gone into cardiac arrest, it could have saved his life. The man was taken to hospital by ambulance and has since been discharged.

Burley has now held an official unveiling of the defibrillator, which is mounted on the outside wall of the Village Hall in Pound Lane.

Cllr Philip Daubeney, chair-man of Burley Parish Council, who provided the device, said: “The Parish Council was pleased to be able to provide this defibrillator for the benefit of residents and visitors to the village. If it helps save just one avoidable death it will be money well spent.”

The 999 call handler will provide the defibrillator code to the person calling the ambulance, so the device can be used in cases of sudden cardiac arrest to greatly increase the chances of survival.

Mike Jukes, co-ordinator of Bransgore Community First Responders, which asked the council to consider installing the defibrillator, said: “We are so pleased that parish councils are leading the way in the provision of this life saving equipment in rural areas such as Burley, where a medical response within eight minutes can be hard to achieve.”

Another Public Access Defibrillator will be appearing in the village in the near future.

  • Anyone in the Bransgore and Burley area interested in learning how to conduct CPR should contact the local Heartstart Group on 0844 500 9699.