The initiative has been supported by Taylor Wimpey East Scotland, Scotmid and the British Heart Foundation Scotland.

A defibrillator is a portable device that can be used by anyone to help to restart the heart when a person experiences a cardiac arrest and has stopped breathing. 

Taylor Wimpey East Scotland is donating the defibrillator and external cabinet from its recently delivered Lauder Grove development. 

Scotmid will serve as a home for the equipment, organise and fund its installation and power supply, and will be responsible for ongoing checks, maintenance and replacement parts.

The initiative started after the death of a Ratho Station resident after a cardiac arrest, which led Black to look into the availability of defibrillators in the village. 

Black found four registered defibrillators nearby but learnt that they were situated in businesses with restricted access and were not available to people 24 hours a day. As such, Black approached her local Scotmid store to see what it could do. 

Scotmid looked into possible solutions and decided to work with Taylor Wimpey East Scotland, which had a defibrillator and external cabinet available after the delivery of its nearby development. 

Taylor Wimpey is donating defibrillators from delivered developments to communities in the UK, as part of an initiative with the British Heart Foundation (BHF).

Kirsty McGill, sales and marketing director at Taylor Wimpey East Scotland, said: “Our partnership with the BHF is vitally important in helping to ensure that more defibrillators are available for people who might need them.”

Lynne Ogg, head of membership & community engagement at Scotmid Co-operative, said: “Michelle highlighted an important issue, and we were keen to help find a practical, long-term solution.”

Michelle Black, Ratho Station resident, said: “I’m incredibly grateful to Scotmid and Taylor Wimpey for listening and working together to make this happen for our community.”

The new defibrillator will be registered on the national defibrillator network, The Circuit. 

All of Scotmid’s defibrillators are registered on the national defibrillator network as part of the Society’s wider work with BHF Scotland. 

David McColgan, head of BHF Scotland, said: “Every second counts when someone has a cardiac arrest, and we know that prompt CPR and defibrillation can double the chances of survival in some cases.

“Increasing the number of publicly accessible defibrillators in our communities, alongside more people learning CPR skills, can play a vital role in these critical moments.”

There is no specific training required to use a defibrillator, and the device only gives a shock to the heart if it is necessary.