Who are we?
We are a dedicated group of local volunteers working to maintain community defibrillators, operate a Volunteer Emergency Telephone System (VETS), offer training opportunities to the general public and raise awareness and funds to support all of this work across the Parish of Ashprington in Devon.
Where are the parish defibrillators?
There are currently two publicly accessible defibrillators in the parish. One is located in Ashprington, in the former telephone box across from The Durant Arms. The other is in Tuckenhay, mounted on to the side wall of The Maltsters Arms. Both can be easily accessed, with no code required to open the case.
Volunteer Emergency Telephone System (VETS)
Offered via the Community Heartbeat Trust, VETS is designed to assist in an emergency situation where local help to provide CPR and deliver the defibrillator may be much quicker than that able to be provided by the emergency services. We currently have over 20 “good neighbours” across the parish on hand to assist pending the arrival of an ambulance.
How does it work?
In the event of a suspected cardiac arrest, always phone 999 first.
Then phone the dedicated VETS number – (01803) 732 535 – to connect with volunteers in Ashprington or Tuckenhay who can fetch and bring the nearest defibrillator to your location. Whilst not medical professionals, volunteers have undertaken training in basic CPR and how to use a defibrillator (if needed) and can assist prior to the arrival of the emergency services.
Want to get involved as a volunteer?
The group is always seeking new volunteers to (a) be part of the VETS group on hand to respond to calls and (b) support a host of fundraising and other activities as a member of the Defibrillator Support Group. If you live locally and are interested in either (or, indeed, both) of these opportunities, you are warmly welcome to contact the group via ashtuckdefib@gmail.com in the first instance.
Raising awareness … and raising funds!
Every day – VETS volunteers are on hand to answer a call
Every week – volunteers check and monitor the parish defibrillators
Every few months – the Defibrillator Support Group meets together
Every year – a training session is offered to parishioners free of charge
All of this and more means that raising funds is a major priority, with ongoing annual running costs of £1,000 needed to maintain the defibrillators, run training sessions and support awareness raising activities. We are grateful for the support of Ashprington Parish Council and local community members and organisations (including Tractor Fest, The Durant Arms and more) in our ongoing fundraising efforts, as well as Devon County Councillor Jonathan Hawkins who has made donations from the Devon County Council Locality Fund. However, we will soon need to replace the two defibrillators in the parish and we will need your help to be able to do this, with all donations are gratefully received.
Get in touch
You can find the Ashprington and Tuckenhay Defibrillator Support Group on Facebook, as well as via email to ashtuckdefib@gmail.com. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with any queries or suggestions.
