A woman has died despite desperate assistance from members of the public and the use of a community defibrillator.

The AED - or defibrillator - located on the wall of Wells Pharmacy, Kingsbridge, was used on a woman in suspected cardiac arrest on Thursday, August 31. Unfortunately first responders were unable to save her life.

It was members of the public who came to the aid of the woman in the first instance. Becky Wilkinson commented on the Facebook post to say she was one of those who tried to help. She wrote: “The defibrillator was working fine, but unfortunately it was just too late, everyone involved tried their very best to save this lady, emergency crews arrived within minutes, so much respect for them. Its the family I feel for, must have come as a real shock. Lots of is did [try and save her] we all tried our very best.”

Kingsbridge Police posted on Facebook, saying: “During the week, the defibrillator which is on the wall on Wells Pharmacy, Kingsbridge was used on a female who was in suspected cardiac arrest.

“Unfortunately, the first responders weren’t able to save the life of the patient who sadly died.

We would like you all to look on these defibrillators as ’owned by the community’ and take responsibility for looking after them.

“They are vital in the chain of survival and although regularly checked to be in working order, are open to abuse. If you see anybody tampering with them then please speak to them or call us. The next person it’s used on could be you or someone you know.”

Dr Carl Gwinnutt, President of the Resuscitation Council UK and a member of the Kingsbridge Estuary Rotary Heartstart Team said: “Although it is very sad that on this occasion the person the AED was used on did not survive, having AEDs readily available in many sites across the South Hams is very reassuring.

“These devices ensure that the optimum treatment can be given rapidly to help provide the greatest chance of survival after a cardiac arrest.

“This incident also demonstrates that everyone should to learn how to recognise when someone has had a cardiac arrest, understand the importance of making the 999 call to the emergency services, starting CPR and using an AED.”

Steve Kerr, President of the Kingsbridge Estuary Rotary Club said: “Thanks to the local support network - Well Pharmacy, SW Ambulance, Kingsbridge Police, The Gazette and Rotary - our AED was replaced and made ‘rescue-ready’ again within a couple of hours and by Sunday morning the spare set of pads were in place.

“The checking system to ensure the defibrillator remains functional worked very well.”

You can find your local defibrillators on our map, which you can find using the QR Code on the back of our papers, or visit: tinyurl.com/southhamsdefibs

These locations are updated as soon as we are told about them, so check the map regularly for updates. If you know of an AED in your area that is not on our map, contact us on 01548 856353, [email protected] or through our social media.