The parents of an Elgin teenager killed in a car crash six years ago expanded his lifesaving legacy by donating a further 56 defibrillators for all road policing units across Scotland.
Sandra and Gordon McKandie founded the charity Keiran’s Legacy in 2016 in honour of their late 16-year-old son.
Keiran was cycling from his family’s home near Elgin when he was hit by a car in March 2016, sustaining fatal injuries.
The nearest ambulance was 38 miles away, taking 30 minutes to reach him.
The police fast response vehicle, which was the first emergency service on the scene, had no emergency life-saving equipment.
For the last six years, Keiran’s parents have devoted their lives to fundraising to prevent anyone else from experiencing the heartache they have felt.
Keiran’s Legacy was originally set up with the aim of raising £3,000 to put three defibrillators into fast response vehicles in Moray.
A number of smaller defibrillator donations have been made to businesses and organisations in Moray, Aberdeenshire and the Highlands in recent years.
The charity has helped save nine lives and installed more than 170 defibrillators in local communities and emergency response vehicles across Scotland.
The Elgin couple has now expanded the venture across Scotland to ensure “everyone has the best chance of survival.”
Making a positive change
The family has now donated lifesaving equipment worth £80,000 to the police.
The donation will ensure a defibrillator is available to all road policing units across Scotland.
Sandra McKandie, Keiran’s mum and charity founder, said it is their hope the devices will help to save countless lives in the years that lie ahead.
She said: “Our core charity aim was to get defibrillator access into every fast response vehicle on active duty across Scotland, which is what this new police partnership will achieve.
“Now that we’ve done that, we want to see the defibs being utilised and see how many more lives we can save.”
In Scotland, more than 3,000 people will have an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest every year, with less than a 10% survival rate due to a lack of life-saving equipment on hand.
The McKandie family donated their first 10 defibrillators to north-east police in 2016 as part of a trial.
Their calls arose after attempts to expand their trial scheme to other police divisions were delayed.
Following the most recent donation, there are now 80 defibrillators in police cars across Scotland carrying Keiran’s name.
Changing the mindset
Mrs McKandie said the equipment forms the first stage in their mission towards positive change.
They are setting their sights on changing operational policies to ensure more lives are saved in Kieran’s name.
She said: “Our ambition is bigger than just providing the equipment and we must look to other countries across the world who are more successful at responding to out-of-hospital cardiac arrests.
“Scandinavian countries for example have a much more joint emergency response to this kind of emergency situation, whereas in the UK how our emergency services are connected and deployed needs to improve.
“This is what we are really driving for to honour Keiran. An operational policy that changes how emergency services are dispatched to deal with out-of-hospital cardiac arrests would ensure more lives are saved in Keiran’s name.”
Chief superintendent Louise Blakelock, head of road policing, thanked the family for making a positive change amidst their grief.
She said: “We are extremely grateful to Keiran’s Legacy for this generous donation and commend the family on their tireless fundraising efforts for this life-saving equipment.
“Preservation of life lies at the heart of policing and while we are not a substitute for paramedics, we know the vital difference this emergency first aid equipment can make.
“I’d like to thank Keiran’s family and acknowledge their dedication to making positive changes following such a tragic event in their lives.”
Conversation