State of the art defibrillators have been installed by Applus, the operator of the NCTS service in a number of NCTS Centres across Ireland.  These defibrillators will ensure that anyone experiencing life threatening heart trauma and in need of having their heart re-started will have a greater chance of survival.

The defibrillators are installed in all 11 high-volume centres, located at Galway, Blarney, Cork Little Island, Limerick, Waterford, Naas, Greenhills, Deansgrange, Fonthill and Northpoint which serve over 60% of the vehicle population which equates to over 1 million customers visiting those centres on an annual basis.

All NCTS Centres have a trained first Aider who is also trained in the use of a defibrillator in each of the 50 Centres. Each defibrillator is also registered with the National Ambulance Register so in the event of an 999/112 call, the ambulance service will be able to notify people in the area of its location.

Mark Synnott, Managing Director of Applus Inspection Services Ireland commented, “Applus are thrilled to have a potentially life saving defibrillators installed in a number of our centres and even though I hope we never have to use them; it is reassuring to know that they are there on site and our staff have the essential training to use them. Additionally, our NCTS centres are all located in busy industrial estates, so these defibrillators will not just assist NCTS customers but anyone in the area that needs treatment quickly”.

Applus have dedicated the Defibrillator in the Waterford Test Centre in memory of David Ryan who sadly passed away recently while at the NCT Centre. His father Billy Ryan visited the NCTS centre recently and said “We are very appreciative of the NCTS staff who assisted with David on the day. We know that David will forever be remembered by the NCTS staff who have dedicated this life saving equipment in his honour.”