"Vital" defibrillator installed at North Tyneside Metro station

A life-saving defibrillator has been installed at West Monkseaton Metro station in North Tyneside.

The device, also known as a defib, has been mounted inside the station concourse, next to the ticket machines, in a special protective case and is registered on the National Defibrillator Network – ‘The Circuit’.

Defibrillators can help to restore heart rhythm when someone goes into cardiac arrest. They are attached to patient’s chest and gives an electric shock to the heart to restart a normal beat.

Volunteers at the Wellfield Defibrillator Group carried out a successful fundraising campaign to buy the new defib, which has already be used.

Nexus, the public body which runs Metro, worked with the local community group to provide a prominent location for it, and then carried out the work to install it at the Metro station.

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Anna Money, from the South Wellfield Defibrillator Group in North Tyneside, said: “We are grateful to Nexus for enabling the installation of the defib at West Monkseaton Metro station, and to the local community and businesses who have helped us raise funds.

“We have installed four defibrillators in the area since 2022. The defibs are all fully automated, which means they need no training to use and will talk you through the process when activated. It would be great to see more defibrillators installed in stations and other public areas as every second counts when you are in cardiac arrest.”

Erika Allen, Quality, Health, Safety, Security and Environment Director at Nexus, said: “This has been a great project for us. Metro is at the heart of the communities it serves and our stations make an ideal location for defibrillators. We already have them at our busiest city centre stations.

“The devices are registered on the national network, which means that if anyone is in need of urgent medical care, they will get that vital support when they need it most.  

“Our own frontline Metro team have been briefed on what they need to do, but the defibs are also there for a member of the public to use in the event someone has suffered a cardiac arrest.

“When you dial 999 the North East Ambulance Service will always know where the nearest defib is located.”

Nexus has previously installed defibrillators at two of its busiest Metro stations in Newcastle – Monument and Haymarket – and on the Shields Ferry.

All 46 trains in the new Tyne and Wear Metro fleet will have defibrillators on board.