Some time ago we were approached by members of Castle Eden Parish Council and Monk Hesleden Parish Council who were keen to have public-use defibrillators installed in their communities, so with the help of the East Durham Area Action Partnership we set about securing funding for the first phase of a scheme which we intend to roll-out into all the villages in the Blackhall ward (where there is clear demand and suitable public facilities for installation).
The first defibrillator we had installed is located at the Castle Eden Village Hall, opposite the Castle Eden Inn on Stockton Road, and the other two are in Blackhall Colliery; one at the Blackhall Resource Centre in Middle Street (pictured below) and the other in the foyer of the Blackhall Community Centre in Hesleden Road. These venues were selected by members of the community as they offered the best opportunity for use in an emergency and they covered the most densely populated areas of both villages.
Our intention now is to extend the scheme into the remaining villages in the Blackhall ward to ensure, as far as possible, that every settlement is covered by a public-use defibrillator and to this end we are keen to hear from anyone who thinks they might know of a suitable location for a defibrillator in their community.
