Ramsey and District Cottage Hospital League of Friends has donated five defibrillator kits to the Northern Neighbourhood Policing Team, which polices the entire northern third of the Island from Ballaugh across to Baldrine.
 
The donation has provided equipment for each of the team’s five vehicles. It comes after Ramsey Town Commissioners purchased a defibrillator to be located in the Town Hall with staff being trained in its use by police training officers following the police station’s relocation to the Town Hall.
 
Recognising the life-saving value of the equipment Ramsey Town Commissioner Richard Radcliffe applied for and secured funds from the Ramsey and District Cottage Hospital League of Friends in his capacity as vice-chairman and treasurer.
 
Receiving the kits on behalf of the team Inspector Stuart Gardner said: ‘We’re extremely grateful to the League of Friends for funding these five defibrillators, which can make a very real difference between life and death.  We are also grateful to Ramsey Grammar School for assisting in providing facilities for refresher training for our officers, and to the Isle of Man Ambulance Service for allowing use of their training equipment; this is a great example of the willingness of local organisations in the community to work together for the common good.
 
Mr Radcliffe said: ‘As a TT marshall I recognise the vital role a defibrillator can play in those first few “on-the-scene” moments in an incident so on behalf of the Ramsey and District Cottage Hospital League of Friends I was pleased to present this equipment to Inspector Gardner and his team.
 
‘Ramsey is a close-knit, supportive community and the Northern Neighbourhood Policing Team is very much at the heart of that community. Providing these kits and the support it has engendered locally demonstrates the enduring sense of community and partnership that thrives in our town and how that can be such a powerful force for good.’

Photo - Ramsey Town Commissioners Sylvia Beattie and Richard Radcliffe present Inspector Stuart Gardner with defibrillator kits donated by the Ramsey and District Cottage Hospital League of Friends. Picture Andrew Barton.