The dad of a tragic Laurencekirk woman has given his backing to a campaign to equip the town with more defibrillators.
However, David Wilson believes the lifesaving machines must be publicly accessible or heart attack victims may not get the chance to be saved.
Mum-of-two Amy Wilson, 31, collapsed and died at a coffee morning in the town last November when she was just weeks away from giving birth to her son, Harry.
It is understood Ms Wilson’s death may have been caused by a rare heart condition and two of her friends have since started Stars in the Sky to raise funds for at least one publicly accessible defibrillator.
Mr Wilson told The Courier: “We are told that nothing could have saved the life of my daughter or her baby but my worry is that they never got the chance to be saved.
“The Laurencekirk After School Club is a very hard working asset to the community.
“I think the Stars in the Sky fundraising idea is a credit to all concerned but they need to know their efforts will be of benefit to any future need.”
Mr Wilson said he hopes the publicity generated by his daughter’s plight will, in turn, help raise funds for what will be “a worthy and needed cause.”
Although it is not certain a defibrillator would have saved Ms Wilson, her friends and family believe having such kit available 24-hours-a-day could make a difference to someone else.
Laurencekirk has eight community first responders, who offer emergency medical support until paramedics arrive.
Stewart Wight, team leader of the Laurencekirk First Response Team, said he was backing the charity campaign by the local community.
He said the responders all have other work and simply cannot cover every period of each day but added it was unlikely Ms Wilson would have been saved.
Mr Wight said the buying and distribution of community defibrillators is to be welcomed by all and is likely to have a major impact on the rapid treatment of cardiac arrests.
He added: “I am, however, concerned about the figures suggested in relation to the cost of these machines.
“Recent articles have suggested it requires several thousand pounds to acquire and install this equipment.
“Having recently installed two defibrillators on a popular north-east golf course for less than £2,000, I would hope any community or organisation thinking of purchasing this equipment will not be put off by the prices that have been publicised.
“It is also worth mentioning these machines in isolation can have a limited value without the CPR which accompanies their application, so encouraging community training can be equally as important as community fundraising.”