A MAP displaying defibrillators across Bordon has been created by a resident, after he vowed to be “more self sufficient medically” after trying to save his neighbour when he collapsed.
Neville said he wanted to advertise where the defibrillators were after his neighbour died in 2013 despite his best efforts and those of his wife.
He added: ‘‘Our neighbour collapsed – we had a bang on the door and it was his wife in a dreadful state, so I went round and did what I could to keep things going while the emergency services were coming. But I was quite surprised how long it took for the ambulance to arrive and 20 minutes is an awful long time when you’re trying to keep somebody alive.
‘‘Unfortunately he didn’t make it, but it did make me realise I ought to become more medically aware and since then I have been on various training courses.”
But although now more aware of first responder first-aid techniques, Neville believes a defibrillator might have made all the difference in the effort to save his neighbour.
He said: “Various charities have done a wonderful job installing public access defibrillator/AEDs (automated external defibrillator) around the country.
‘‘But there is no unified, easy to access guide to where these are located.
“If you have a 999 emergency, the operator will tell you what they think is the nearest but if you already know where they are located, precious time could be saved and this could save a life.”
Working as a Local Guide for Google – a global community of explorers who write reviews, add or edit places and check facts on Google Maps – Neville began submitting defibrillator locations.
But because Google did not have a category for AEDs, Neville said they were “inconsistent in accepting updates to the central map – some are there, many are not.
He added: “But anyone with the link can access this map, people can familiarise themselves with the location of the nearest defibrillator.”
To view the map, visit https://bit.ly/DefibMap