Local authorities, town and community councils and other public bodies have, in recent years, started the roll-out of public defibrillators at key locations.
Wales has a very low survival rate for cardiac arrests outside of hospital and it’s said that for every minute a person is in cardiac arrest, their chances of survival fall by 10%.
Last year, the Welsh Government made £500,000 available to help in the roll-out of defibrillators. Each defibrillator costs anything between £500-2,500 depending on the model.
One of the key places identified as suitable to install them is railway stations.
Following a freedom of information request (pdf), Transport for Wales (TfW) confirmed that three of four public defibrillators installed at railway stations in the county have been damaged – whether accidentally or deliberately.
Recently, one at Pencoed railway station (pictured) had to be removed after it was vandalised, with someone leaving a message “fuck ur defribilator (sic)”….at least they spelt “fuck” right. TfW confirms it’s being repaired.
Elsewhere, one at Wildmill station was damaged – said to be because of the weather rather than vandalism. Additionally, there sounds as though there’s been an attempt to set fire to the defibrillator cabinet at Sarn station.
The good news is that apart from Pencoed, all other defibrillators remain operational and there are no reports of damage to the defibrillator at Maesteg station either.
The next phase of Transport for Wales’ roll-out will see new defibrillators installed at Pyle and Bridgend station. A defibrillator at Bridgend station was stolen in 2018.
