Calls for life-saving defibrillators in every school
10 recommendations have been made by a Rhondda Cynon Taf Council working group
There should be a defibrillator in every school in one Welsh county, councillors have said.
Recommendations from a Rhondda Cynon Taf Council working group of councils include every educational setting in the county borough being equipped with an automated external defibrillator (AED).
The group has made 10 recommendations in response to a notice of motion which was supported by full council in November 2024 calling for the council to consider the feasibility of having a lifesaving defibrillator placed in every school in Rhondda Cynon Taf.
A report to the council’s community services scrutiny committee on Monday, December 8, contains the 10 recommendations.
These include that every educational setting in RCT being equipped with an AED and where appropriate and within reasonable cost, these units should be positioned on the perimeter to allow 24/7 access.
Another recommendation is that where current AEDs are located within school premises and are not accessible to the community the council should work with Welsh Ambulance Service Trust and community partners to enable them to place and maintain an AED in a central community location.
The third recommendation is that that the council lobby Welsh Government to ensure funding for AEDs is built into all future school construction and refurbishment programmes, making AED provision a standard feature on new education facilities.
Another recommendation is that the council promotes and collaborates with relevant organisations and charities to embed CPR and defibrillator awareness training across all educational and community settings within the county borough and that that defibrillator awareness training is added annually to the elected members’ development programme.
The fifth recommendation is that cabinet recognise the benefits of schools entering into a service level agreement with a qualified third-party provider to act as guardians of all school-based defibrillators.
The sixth is that all AEDs within RCT council and school premises are registered on the national database and to advocate to community groups to register their AED on the database too.
Another recommendation is that planning guidance for all large housing developments across the county borough encourages developers to include a defibrillator as part of community infrastructure, located in accessible public areas.
An eighth recommendation is that legal and insurance services produce a consistent borough-wide framework addressing liability, vandalism, and access arrangements to provide assurance to schools acting as guardians of public defibrillators.
Another recommendation is that the council works with Welsh Ambulance Service Trust to understand and assess the adequacy of AED provision in council, community, and school settings and strengthens partnership working with local charities, community groups, and emergency services to identify coverage gaps and opportunities for co-funding.
The final recommendation is that the council develops and implements a standardised maintenance and monitoring framework for all council-controlled and school-based AEDs.