County receives first defibrillator at place of worship

The Masjid and Muslim Community Centre, on New Street in Leamington, had a new public access defibrillator installed outside the building last week.

On Friday members of the community centre and staff from the West Midland Ambulance Service came together to install the new automated external defibrillator (AED).

Ayman Zahran, a member of the community centre, said: “We have been talking to the community as we wanted to do something for the community. We helped to raise funds to get the AED and the West Midlands Ambulance Service also helped us to get the funds together to get it here.

“We are encouraged to save a life and we look at it as you save one life as if you are saving the whole world and if you destroy one life you destroy the whole world.”

As part of the installation of the new defibrillator, more than 20 members of the community centre took part in a training session where they learnt how to administer life-saving skills.

The group learned how to perform CPR when someone had suffered a cardiac arrest and how to use the new defibrillator.

Bobby Qayum, community response manager for West Midlands Ambulance Service, ran the training session at the community centre.

He said: “I am trying to get as many AEDs here in Leamington as possible.

“The mosque community said it was so important to get one here and they paid for the cabinet and the 24-hour access and the West Midland Ambulance Service paid for the AED.

“This is the first AED in a place of worship in Warwickshire.”