Four gym members at Solway Fitness in Dumfries have raised funds for a vital piece of potentially life saving equipment.
Steven, Blair, Ross and Emma completed a golfing endurance challenge in August raising enough money for a public access defibrillator. The defibrillator was recently installed at the gym and DGWGO met up with Solway Fitness Personal Trainer Gemma Fergusson.
Gemma said “Ross and three of the gym members recently took part in a fundraiser where they played 72 holes of golf and raised over £2000 pounds for a defib. So at the moment, the two closest ones to the gym are at Islesteps and the Toll Bar but as you can imagine time is of the essence so it’s good to know where your closest defib is.
If you did need to gain access to it and the gym is open, you just go in the front door and the code’s on the wall, or if there’s anybody about you can ask the staff. If the gym is closed then all you need to do is phone 999 tell them that you’re at Solway Fitness and they’ll give you the code to access the defib.
So one of the best things about this piece of equipment is you don’t need any experience to use it. When you open it up it will tell you exactly what to do, where to place the pads and it’ll only administer the shock if the person requires it.
Thank you so much to everyone who’s sponsored and because of everyone’s generosity we also managed to donate the extra 400 pounds that was above the sponsor target to the blood bikes for Dumfries and Galloway”
Gym owner Ross Turley told DGWGO “The defibrillator itself provides simple step by step commands and CPR coaching if selected so that the ordinary person can provide rapid assistance in an extraordinary situation. Thank you to the Boyd Group for supplying the unit.
If anyone in the nearby area would like to come and familiarise themselves with its location you are more than welcome.
Thank you to Steven, Blair, Ross and Emma for your huge contribution in both fundraising and completing this challenge.
We are also very grateful to Lochmaben Golf Club, Crichton Golf Club, Dumfries & Galloway Golf Club and Dumfries and County Golf Club for donating a tee time for each of our rounds in our challenge.
Finally a huge thank you to everyone who donated to our fundraiser. You’ve contributed to the installation of a life saving piece of kit”
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