For reasons extremely close to my heart I decided to find out how many Public Access defibrillators we had in the Community. I was shocked to learn that if someone has a cardiac arrest and receives CPR their survival rate is 9% If they receive treatment from a defibrillator and shockable rhythm their chance increases to 60%.

I was also really surprised to find out that there are very few in the Nuneaton area that are 24 hour public access. There are a number that are at schools, businesses and GP's across the town but these would not automatically be used as they maybe closed or not public access but privately owned. Given the shocking statistics I decided that I wanted to get one placed in the community I live and work in.

Through my quest I had a chance conversation with the coordinator of North Warwickshire Community First Responders, Samantha Hall.

She suggested if I wanted one for Abbey Green then the best option would be to apply to the British Heart Foundation or to fundraise myself as we would need at least £4,000.

Unfortunately sending the application was quite complex with lots of rules and as it could only come from a Community group and couldn’t be from the school or nursery, Samantha said that her team would apply on mine and the communities behalf.

I received a message from Samantha a few weeks ago asking me to call her. She gave me the most fantastic news that after considering the quest I had started out on she would like to offer me a gift. North Warwickshire Community First Responders have donated a defibrillator to me on behalf of the Abbey Green community.

We are currently working on where the unit will be placed but we are hopeful to have it placed in the area where the school and businesses are.

All I have to do now is raise £1500 to cover the cost of the cabinet to store the defibrillator in, installation of the cabinet, new pads and battery for defibrillator. With the donation of the Defibrillator this means that we could have this up and running sooner than I expected which is great news for me and the community. Also once installed there will be public awareness sessions for the community to attend so they can be prepared and know what to do in the event of a cardiac arrest.

Once installed then it will make it accessible for all if needed. The unit will only be accessible when 999 Is called and the operator instructs you to collect it and the code will be given to you at this point.

Therefore please help in anyway you can by donating even a £1 goes a long way to helping. You can donate via, text, credit or debit card and all monies will go straight the defibrillator fund.

Thank you so much - you might just help save a life