On January 17, at the Governor’s Office, Montserrat Red Cross patron Mrs. Sujue Davis presented a training AED machine to the branch president, after they both delivered machines before to various stations, hospital, airport, seaport and police.
The media, recipients and donors on December 19, 2013, gathered for the handing over by Mrs. Sujue Davis, of AEDs (Automated External Defibrillators) as promised some months ago, local branch Red Cross chairman Andre West, fire chief of the fire service of the Royal Montserrat Police Service, explained how it all began.
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The president began by thanking, “Madam Patron, distinguished guests and the media, thank you all for coming to this hand-over process of the AED machines.”
“It’s quite a surprise to me to be speaking but as the Chairperson for the Red Cross we appreciate your presence here,” he said, continuing, “it is quite a great moment that we can now at this stage hand over the AED’s to where they should go.”
West explained: “Last year we started off the process where we thought we need to …ensure that we have the requisite items that we need to do the work of the Red Cross. We came to this great idea on a whole in terms of medical response, to improve that system, came up that we can use AEDs.”
“It’s just like international standards where we have AEDs at almost every station, airport, sports facilities, etc. that anybody can use,” he said.
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He noted, “Mrs. Davis of course with the help of her team, (pointing at the presence of some members) that’s sitting right here and the volunteers came together and they raised an amount of funds.”
The MRC patron happily announced that she and her team had met their objective. “We donated one machine to Glendon Hospital and now we have three more – I think our project is completed now,” she said as she explained. “We have got three here so I’d like to donate one to the Port Authority – the airport and number three to Salem Police Station.”
Mrs. Davis concluded her remarks, by inviting the recipient departments to the training courses. “…but meanwhile,” she concluded, “I am very grateful for all your help. I cannot say all the names in one go, because you all have helped me in one way or the other; you are very kind to us.”
At that handover West noted to the recipients that the machines cannot work themselves and that
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training will be necessary. “…we know that AEDs can’t work themselves, it’s a combination of training first responders, training persons in the community to respond who is close by around to help because it’s automated, they talk to you and tell you exactly what to do how to use them. It’s a combination of CPR (cardiac pulmonary resuscitation) along with the AED’s response,” he advised.
Last year on September 5, 2013, in her capacity as Patron of the Montserrat Red Cross branch, Mrs. Davis in the presence of members of her fund raising committee, hospital staff and media, delivered in an urgent need the first defibrillator, purchased with the help of Coral Cay’s Alistair Cole.
Today, while Mrs. Davis presented the training machine to the branch chairman West, he acknowledged Coral Cay’s assistance in purchasing the machines and transporting them to Montserrat.
Both Mrs. Davis and West at all times noted and expressed appreciation for the assistance of Ben Cresswell from Coral Cay Conservation who purchased and brought the AED training machine to the island on behalf of Montserrat Red Cross Patron Community Project.
Photos: of both events
