Funded by a donation from the City of Edinburgh Council’s energy supplier Utilita, the life saving devices can be found at complexes in Gilmerton (30 Ravenscroft Place), Granton (26 Granton Crescent), Piershill (13 Moira Park) and Sighthill (117 Calder Gardens).

Joined by Councillor Jane Meagher, the council’s Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work convener, care workers at Moira Park unveiled their heart-starting defibrillator yesterday. They were joined by representatives from Utilita and John Craig, the St John Scotland chair for the Edinburgh Area. They were able to demonstrate how quick and easy it is to use in front of Moira Park residents.

Each machine will be registered on the national defibrillator network, the Circuit, which connects defibrillators to NHS ambulance services across the UK so that in those crucial moments after a cardiac arrest, they can be accessed quickly to help save lives. When they are used to save lives, patients will also be gifted a HeartSine Defibrillator to donate to a charity or organisation of their choice.

Councillor Jane Meagher, Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work convener, said: “We now have over 80 public access defibrillators in Edinburgh and this initiative is putting even more of these important devices on the map. The four now installed at our sheltered housing complexes will provide extra reassurance for those in our care but will also be accessible to neighbours and people passing through.

“As part of our community benefits scheme, we work with council suppliers to help them give back to the city and Utilita is one of our biggest energy suppliers. We have a contract to switch all empty council homes to Utilita, making sure that tenants have smart meters and welcome credit in their new home. This project has been made possible thanks to their community benefits donation, so I’d really like to thank them and everyone involved.”

Mike Massaro-Mallinson, service director – operations at the Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership, said: “These are a very welcome addition to our four sheltered housing complexes. Residents told us they would like defibrillators near their homes, so it’s great that we’ve been able to make that happen. They’ll have the comfort of knowing help is close at hand should they ever need it. And there’s the added bonus that they are now part of the network of defibrillators in Edinburgh that can be used by anyone who needs them. We’ll now work with St John Scotland to arrange training for anyone who is interested in learning how to use the defibrillators.”

Debra Clason, manager at Utilita’s Energy Hub in Newkirkgate Shopping Centre, said: “It’s always a pleasure to work alongside The City of Edinburgh Council and this project is evidence of our shared ethos to make a difference in the communities we serve. We‘re delighted to have played a small part in ensuring these life-saving devices are more widely available in the local community. Seeing the new defibrillators in place has brought my colleagues and I a tremendous sense of pride.”

John Craig, chair of St John Scotland Edinburgh, said: “We are delighted to have partnered with Edinburgh Council to help provide the training for these life-saving devices. Dialling 999 for help, starting CPR and using a defibrillator on a person having a Sudden Cardiac Arrest will give the person the best chance of surviving. We at St John Scotland want to help more people survive a health crisis, to live longer, and better. Our volunteers work with communities across Scotland to help save lives by providing Public Access Defibrillators and offering free CPR and defibrillator awareness training.”