Let’s make our towns a safer place to live

The Heart of England Defibrillator Finder Campaign is aiming to ensure as many people as possible are within close distance at all times of defibrillators – electronic devices which can prove the difference between life and death for someone if they suffer a heart attack.

Leamington businessman Adrian Lewis has set up a Defibfinder, a not-for-profit organisation, to achieve that goal. The organisation’s first objective is to map out the locations around the three towns where defibrillators can be found.

To do this it is asking for any businesses, schools, clubs, health centres or organisations with a defibrillator to get in contact and register the device.

Mr Lewis said: “Someone dies from a heart attack every six minutes – that’s ten people every hour.

“In total, 146,000 people have a heart attack every year and 94,000 of them die as a result.

“Over 1.4 million people in the UK over the age of 35 have had a heart attack.

“One hundred and seventy nine people lose one of their parents every day to a fatal heart attack. One third of people who suffer a fatal heart attack die before they can be taken to hospital - speedy medical attention is the key to survival.”

Mr Lewis’s 16-year-old god- daughter Ria Hickerton died of sudden adult death syndrome in October 2000.

Since then, members of her family have worked to increase awareness of the disease and to make more defibrillators available in public places.

Time is vital once someone suffers a heart attack or goes into cardiac arrest - for every minute wasted their survival chances drop by ten per cent. If they can be treated with good CPR and a defibrillator within eight minutes their chances of survival can be increased from five per cent to up to 50 per cent

Mr Lewis said: “The organisation will aim to train and educate thousands of people to be proficient and confident in both resuscitation – CPR - and defibrillation.

“Training will be carried out by the St John Ambulance Service, The NHS Ambulance Service or our trained trainers.

“We will encourage local authorities, sporting venues, businesses, shops, factories etc to participate in the Public Access Defibrillator (PADs) scheme.

“The database will help highlight gaps within communities where equipment is needed and we will assist in fundraising, where possible.

“Our aim is to save at least 25 people per week from certain death and many more victims from brain damage following a heart attack.”

At present Leamignton, Warwick and Kenilworth, are rated as “poor” for people’s access to defibrillators - also known as Automated External Devices (AEDs).

Defibfinder is aiming to have 25 devices available across the area and Mr Lewis would eventually like the organisation’s work to have an effect nationwide.

Precise locations of AEDs will be available on an online map and via a mobile phone app that can be easily accessed.

In the forthcoming weeks and months the Courier and Weekly News will be working closely to support the organisation and its appeal and highlighting how you can get involved. If you would like to register a defibrillator or to know more about the appeal, call 778504, click here or contact the Courier on 457706.