UK golf course becomes first in world to fit defibrillators in buggies

UK golf course becomes first in world to fit defibrillators in buggies
A Scottish golf course has become the first in the world to fit defibrillators in its golf buggies as 400 people suffer heart attacks on courses in the UK every year.

Royal Dornoch in Dornoch, Sutherland, has fitted every buggy at the club with a defibrillator.

Campaigner David Sullivan, who lost four friends to heart attacks, set up Code Blue CPR and has spent £30,000 of his own money on life saving training and equipment – as only 8% of people who go into cardiac arrest outside of hospital survive.

In 2017 Mr Sullivan, 60, saved the life of a fellow golfer by performing CPR, and he says his work has saved 12 lives so far.

And last year an 18-year-old man’s life was saved on a golf course when another golfer spotted the signs of cardiac arrest and started CPR.

Mr Sullivan, a dad of four from Oxted in Surrey, said: ‘There were 36,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests last year, we are saving less than 3,000 people – 33,000 died last year in the UK.

‘I went golfing with my uncle and we heard a scream and saw a young lad covered in blood, I thought he had been hit by a golf ball.

‘I had to pump him for 14 minutes until a defibrillator arrived. Having your hands on someone’s heart is not a nice thing to do.

‘The following day my phone went and a lady said ‘are you David Sullivan?’. I started sobbing.

‘She said ‘I’m his mum, he’s sitting up in bed reading a newspaper’.

‘Everyone should know how to use these life-saving skills – there wouldn’t be so many people in A&E.’

He chose Royal Dornoch to install the defibrillators as it is considered to be the fifth best golf course in the world.

Mr Sullivan added: ‘The rich and famous all go to play golf there, people will think “we are going to do the same”.

‘Using a defibrillator within three minutes of someone in cardiac arrest significantly increases that person’s chance of survival.

‘Anyone who is in or close to the club house would likely be within this time frame.

‘Due to the size of golf courses, being within three minutes of the club house is quite unlikely after the first hole.

‘More than 75% of cardiac arrests happen between 8am and 9am but all the defibrillators at dental surgeries, pharmacies and doctors are locked away.

‘I want to be at forefront of saving lives.’

Mr Sullivan set up Code Blue CPR along with business partner ex-England footballer John Salako.

He has attended resuscitation courses and CPR training events in Vienna, Las Vegas and Germany.