LIFESAVING equipment has been installed at a prime location in Dolgellau.

Mawddach Rotary Club has put a defibrillator on the outside wall of Gwyndaf Evans Motors’ showroom, putting it in close proximity to the Marian playing fields, the nearby industrial estate and the public car park.

Siting the unit on the showroom’s external wall meant there was easy access to a power supply, and since the unit is the same make as the one the club installed at the fire station, members have been able to secure the services of the maintenance team there to service the Marian installation when necessary.

Hilary Nurse, who was in charge of the project for the Rotary Club, visited all the units on the industrial estate and leaders of the clubs using the Marian to encourage them to contribute to this potentially lifesaving piece of equipment.

Commenting on the project, Hilary said: “All the businesses approached were happy to give a donation which went a long way towards the cost of the unit plus the cost of providing the power supply and erecting notices nearby to direct would-be users to the unit.”

She added that she would particularly like to thank Tomos Hughes, correspondent for the ambulance service working with the community assistant team, for his advice on the equipment and for supervising the installation process.

Many of the donors also attended a talk at a Rotary meeting following the official opening where the protocol for using the equipment was explained by Tomos Hughes and Wayne Tomlinson, a cardiac nurse specialist from the Ysbty Glan Clwyd, who also emphasised the importance of cardiac arrests being dealt with by members of the public using the nearest defibrillator and continuing with CPR until medically trained staff can take over the patient.