7th Lifesaving Defibrillator Installed in Congleton

The 7th Lifesaving Defibrillator, jointly funded by Congleton Lion’s and Congleton Partnership, has been installed at West Heath’s shopping centre.

Congleton Mayor Margaret Gartside officially unveiled the new defibrillator on the 11^th of May.

Around 30,000 people each year suffer from a sudden cardiac arrest, according to figures from the British Heart Foundation only 1 in 10 people survive. However, the chance of surviving a cardiac arrest jumps from 6% to 74% if the casualty is in a shockable rhythm and a defibrillator is deployed within 3 minutes, it’s vital that our communities have access to defibrillators 24 hours a day!

Each defibrillator is registered on a central database, in the event of an emergency call 999 and operators can direct you to the nearest emergency-ready defibrillator and issue you the access code, Cathy Dean, Congleton Partnership Officer commented:

“Congleton Partnership is committed to working with partners to install life-saving defibrillators at strategic points around the town, it really does save lives but it’s very important to ring 999 first in the event of an emergency and they can then provide further instruction.”

David Morris from Congleton Lions added:

“This is the 7th 24x7 defibrillator installed in Congleton part funded with Congleton Lions, unfortunately, one of them is called for approximately every 6 weeks. We are committed to installing more across the town. We are always keen to hear from building owners who would like to install one at their premises. A big thanks to the Hollins Murray Group and Paul, (facilities manager) for assisting with this project.”

No specialist training is needed to use a defibrillator as full instructions are given at the time of use, but Congleton Lions is planning a defibrillator training event at West Health shopping centre towards the end of June.

The Congleton Partnership, created in August 2008, is a non-political community-based volunteer organisation drawing on the skills and expertise of local residents and businesses. 

www.congletonpartnership.co.uk.

Pictured - Left to right. Samantha Sellars NWAS, Cathy Dean (Congleton Partnership), Margaret Gartside (Congleton Mayor), Kenton Hackney (President Congleton Lions Club), David Morris and Paul McCallum (Hollins Murray Group).