Cwmbran station defibrillator out of order

A defibrillator device, located on the northbound platform at Cwmbran Railway Station, is currently out of order.

As a result, anyone in cardiac distress at the station, or in the nearby area, may be unable to have access to the tools needed to enhance their chance of survival, until it is fixed.

The exact nature of the defibrillator’s problem is not currently known.

But, at this time, the case in which the device is housed in has an out of order sign placed on it.

It has been out of use since at least Wednesday, July 14, but it is unclear how much longer the device has been out of use.

Transport for Wales (TfW), who are responsible for managing the station, in the Torfaen area of the county, said that they were waiting for a part to be delivered, and that it would be fixed “soon”.

A spokesman for TfW was asked when they were made aware of the problem, though the train operating company did not respond to this question in their statement, which was sent to the Argus.

In their statement, the spokesman said: “We’re aware that the defibrillator at Cwmbran station is currently out of order.

“We’re awaiting delivery of a replacement part, which we’re expecting to receive soon.”

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News that the defibrillator is not currently comes as a blow, just weeks after it was announced that devices would be installed at 200 railway stations across Wales.

It was hoped that it was largely increase the number of people able to access the devices.

The importance of access to defibrillators was highlighted earlier this summer when Danish footballer Christian Eriksen collapsed at the Euro 2020 game against Finland.

When this news was announced, Karl Gilmore, Transport for Wales Rail infrastructure director, said: “We have long recognised how important defibrillators can be as a life-saving tool, so we’re delighted to now be in a position to install these devices across the Wales and Borders network.

“The safety of our customers and colleagues is our top priority and as part of work with the provider Aero Healthcare, our staff will be offered training on how to use the defibrillators.

“We want to make the Wales and Borders network the safest in the UK and an important part of this is having the right facilities at our stations to help people in the case of an emergency.”