St John Scotland gifts defib to Street Pastors

Publication date 11 February 2022

Perth's Street Pastors have become the latest community group to benefit from the support of St John Scotland in providing a life-saving defibrillator. 

A group of people pose with a defibrillator

The Street Pastors are volunteers who go out on in Perth's city centre on Friday and Saturday nights to provide emotional and practical support to people enjoying the nightlife. 

They are often called upon to respond to incidents and provide first aid, and thanks to St John Scotland, will now carry a portable defibrillator, which could help save someone's life in the event of cardiac arrest.

Gordon Loudon, chair of Perth Street Pastors, said: “Street Pastors are on the streets to listen help and care for anyone in any need. As we are in mobile contact with other agencies they can contact us, and through the kind donation of this defibrillator we can help and possibly save a life.”

Around 70 people each week in Scotland will have a cardiac arrest, but currently, only one in ten survive. Starting CPR as quickly as possible, and using a defibrillator if one is available, significantly increases the chances of survival.

Dr Ian Morrison, CPR Lead for St John Scotland Perth & Kinross team, explained: "Early defibrillation can improve outcome in cardiac arrests. Street Pastors are often called to incidents in the city centre and having immediate access to a defibrillator will allow them to treat casualties quickly, and give them the best chance of survival.”

The purchase of the defibrillator was made possible by an anonymous donation from a member of the public.

Janice Webster, Chairman of St John Scotland's Perth & Kinross committee said: "St John Scotland Perth & Kinross has an ongoing campaign to facilitate the installation of defibrillators throughout the area, and we are delighted that thanks to this donation, we are able to hand over this defibrillator to Street Pastors in Perthshire.”

More information about our support for community defibrillators can be found on our website.