The Acorn School, Nailsworth, is fundraising to buy a public access defibrillator package to help make our school and local community a safer place.

As you probably know, defibrillators (also known as AEDs or 'Defibs') save the lives of people of all ages, every single week. When someone suffers sudden cardiac arrest, prompt action by anyone nearby offers their only chance of survival. An immediate 999 call for an ambulance and starting cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) immediately are essential. Most people who survive will have needed a shock from a defibrillator to correct a chaotic heart rhythm. The earlier that shock is given, the better the person’s chance of survival. Studies have shown that a shock given within 3 minutes of cardiac arrest provides the best chance of survival and that even one minute of further delay reduces that chance substantially. In most situations, ambulance services would be unable to reach the scene of a cardiac arrest and deliver a shock within 3 minutes.

Unfortunately there just aren't enough AEDs in communities around the country and too many people aren't given a chance because there isn't a defibrillator nearby - and let's remember that cardiac arrest can happen to anyone, at anytime, without warning.

Help us make sure that the children, parents, grandparents, friends and teachers of The Acorn School and the local community have quick and easy access to a defibrillator, should the need arise. During a recent review of our first aid procedures we were concerned with the time it would take to retrieve the closest AED to the school (located at Tesco Express in the centre of Nailsworth) in the event of an emergency. We therefore decided to launch this fundraising campaign to purchase an AED package to serve the school and local community.

The proposed AED will be located in a secure cabinet at the front of the school where it can be easily accessed by school staff AND local community members should someone go into cardiac arrest. School staff will know the code to access the cabinet and the ambulance service will give this code to the person who makes the initial 999 call (including members of the public), once they have confirmed that they are dealing with a cardiac arrest.

We feel that having an AED based at The Acorn School will offer a huge benefit to the local community, including sports clubs using the King George V playing fields, the church, and the residence of Park Road and beyond. Please help us make Nailsworth a safer place, and donate to this great community cause!

Many thanks from all at The Acorn School.