A KEIGHLEY councillor says the parish should soon have five of its own publicly-accessible defibrillator machines.

Town councillor Ian Dermondy, who represents Guard House ward, began negotiating for the devices with Yorkshire Ambulance Service two months ago.

He said he was told on October 26 that the scheme would be going ahead, and will be funded by Airedale, Wharfedale and Craven Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), with training and support provided by Yorkshire Ambulance Service.

"I've over the moon," he said. "I would have been happy to be getting just one machine.

"As a representative of the people of Keighley, I'm proud to say that very soon, no matter where someone is in the town or local area, there will be a machine that could save their or someone else's life.

"I could not have done all this without the hard work put in by defibrillator officer, David Jones, at Yorkshire Ambulance Service or the team at the CCG, to whom I am very grateful."

UKIP councillor Dermondy, who represents Guard House Ward, said even if one life is saved, the scheme will have proven its worth.

He said the likely locations for the devices will be Keighley Morrisons Supermarket, Keighley Railway Station, Keighley Civic Centre, The Emily Street Mosque and Morton Institute.

He added: "There are still some bits and pieces to finalise, but the good news is that from my vision a few months ago to have one defibrillator in the town, we are on the road towards Keighley becoming the first town in the country to have full coverage.

"This is about protecting the people of Keighley, which is why we become councillors."

He said the devices should be installed in wall-mounted cabinets in late November and early December.

These easy-to-use defibrillators are designed not to deliver a shock if they detect a heartbeat, so people will not accidentally use one on someone still breathing.

Anyone who dials 999 and reports a possible cardiac arrest can be directed to the nearest defibrillator by the emergency operator, and given the code to open the cabinet.

They will then be able to remove the defibrillator from the cabinet and take it to the patient.

Dr Colin Renwick, clinical chairman for the NHS Airedale, Wharfedale and Craven CCG, confirmed that in partnership with the Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust, the CCG had funded a number of community public access defibrillators throughout the area.

He added: "This lifesaving equipment can be used while the ambulance is on its way to someone suffering a cardiac arrest and, hopefully, make a positive difference to their lives.”

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