Photos credit Keith Ross with thanks

Seaford Rotary identified in a survey of defibrillator locations in Seaford area there was no nearby defibrillator for people living in the Bishopstone estate of 480 households and set in place a project to correct this omission.

The cost of the defibrillator has been raised by public subscription, a donation from Seaford Rotary Charitable Trust, Friends of Bishopstone Station and by Dave Bailey, a local philanthropist.  Jesse Roberts Construction Ltd kindly donated and installed the concrete base.

Seaford Town Council has taken ownership of the defibrillator and responsibility for its maintenance including the replacing of its pads and batteries when needed.

Rotarian Clive Livingstone President of the Rotary Club of Seaford commented that “Having looked at the provision of defibrillators in the town that are available 24/7 it was clear that the Bishopstone estate did not have access to one. As there were no public buildings that could supply the power that the cabinet needed we would need a free standing solar powered unit.  While it is great to see it in place it is ironic that I hope it is not needed. However if it is “it would be wonderful if its use saved a life”.

Councillor Sally Markwell Mayor of Seafordcommented “I offer heartfelt thanks to Seaford Rotary for their impressive contribution ensuring that we now have a newly installed defibrillator on the Bishopstone estate which joins the list of defibrillators owned by STC i.e. those at Church Street, The View, and the Martello Toilets. Seaford Rotary were required to almost double their contribution to include a solar-powered cabinet in addition to the defibrillator and demonstrates their total commitment to supporting the Seaford Community. We all appreciate your help!”

Note to editors:

The photograph shows the defibrillator and its cabinet being handed over by Rotarian Clive Livingstone, Rotary Club President to Councillor Sally Markwell, Mayor of Seaford representing Seaford Town Council.

ESCC Highways Department has issued the License necessary to place the unit on site.

A solar powered cabinet was needed because there is no public building in that part of Bishopstone to provide a mains power supply to the unit, necessary for keeping the defibrillator warm. This cabinet is heated so that the batteries are maintained above the minimum temperature required to keep the defibrillator fully functional at all times.

This defibrillator is one of the very few that are solar powered in the District. The cabinet is positioned so that its photovoltaic cells face south thereby maximising the low amount of winter sunlight.

The importance of locally available defibrillators:-

• Fewer than 1 in 10 people survive an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.
• Around 7–8% of people in whom resuscitation is attempted survive to hospital discharge. 
• Two of the most important factors which influence survival include the time between cardiac arrest and attempted cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and early defibrillation.
• Immediate initiation of CPR can double or quadruple survival from out-hospital cardiac arrest.
• Defibrillation within 3–5 minutes of collapse can produce survival rates up to 50–70%.
• Each minute of delay reduces the probability of survival to hospital discharge by 10%.

Source NICE National Institute for Health and Care Excellence https://www.nice.org.uk/

For enquiries about this Press Release and for more detail about the project please contact Rotarian  Clive Livingstone ‘phone number 07970 956358 email janandclive1@gmail.com

Date of Press Release    21 February 2025