MSP urges Scottish Government to give every state-funded school a defibrillator
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MSP Alexander Burnett has urged the Scottish Government to give every state-funded school a defibrillator in a bid to protect pupils and the wider community against cardiac arrest following plans announced in England.
The MSP for Aberdeenshire West submitted a written question to public health minister Maree Todd asking if she would adopt the move in Scotland which would also give pupils the chance to learn life-saving skills such as CPR and the purpose of defibrillators.
It comes as state-funded schools across England will all receive defibrillators in a bid to help protect schools and their local communities against cardiac arrest.
The family of six-year-old Kacey Seivwright recently raised £50,000 to allow the life-saving devices to be installed in schools in Aberdeen following her tragic death.
The youngster was attending a club in Aberdeen when she took ill and passed away in August 2021.
But schools in areas such as Aberdeenshire and Moray still do not have the devices, prompting Mr Burnett to raise the issue with the Scottish Government.
In a response to his question, Ms Todd said the installation of defibrillators is a “matter for local authorities in light of local circumstances and priorities”.
He said: “Rather than passing the buck to local authorities to fund and decide, it’s high time the Scottish Government moves this issue up its priority list rather than keeping it at the bottom.
“Access to funding must not stand in the way of every school having on-site access to a life-saving defibrillator but it’s clear this is the case in areas across the country such as the north-east.
“All schools should have defibrillators which would help save lives when incidents occur while also boosting numbers in our communities.
“Recent tragic incidents in our schools should act as a reminder to the Scottish Government that defibrillators considerably enhance the chances of survival and should be treated no differently to other life-saving appliances such as fire extinguishers.”
In response to Mr Burnett’s question, Ms Todd said: “The Scottish Government does not hold the information you request regarding defibrillators in schools.
“Decisions on whether to install defibrillators in schools are a matter for local authorities, in light of local circumstances and priorities.”
"The Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Strategy 2021- 2026 sets a clear aim of increasing the number of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests which have a defibrillator applied before the ambulance service arrive from eight per cent to 20 per cent.
"Work is ongoing to build the evidence base on the location of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in Scotland, and the existing locations of defibrillators. This will support the strategic placement of defibrillators across Scotland."
