Community group buys life-saving kit for Chapel Allerton

Fundraisers have proved that they are all heart after buying life-saving equipment for Chapel Allerton in Leeds.

Community group Cara raised £999 towards the cost of a public access defibrillator through a number of events and a local membership scheme. The rest of the funding has been provided by Yorkshire Ambulance Service Charity.

Cara donates funds raised throughout the year to a nominated charity. In 2018, the group decided to buy the defibrillator which will benefit the community for years to come.

The support of Yorkshire Ambulance Service Charity has also enabled the group to buy a secure storage cabinet for the defibrillator. It has been installed outside Linley & Simpson estate agents and can be accessed by members of the public 24/7 in the event of someone suffering a cardiac arrest.

The community has fully backed the project, with Linley & Simpson committing to host the cabinet and cover running costs. Phillips Electrical kindly installed the cabinet free of charge. Chapel Allerton Pilates, based on Harrogate Road, held a raffle and raised over £200 which will be used to fund a community defibrillator awareness session.

Matt Turner, a member of the Cara committee, said: “As a volunteer group, we are proud to be able to bring to the community something that could potentially save a life and also show that community support really can make a difference when we work together.

“The funding Cara raised has come from the generosity of local residents and businesses, as well as the time that the Cara volunteers put into each and every one of our local events over the year. I would like to personally say thank you to all of you who have made this project possible.

“In the coming months, we aim to collaborate further with local services, such as the ambulance service, with training sessions planned to raise awareness and show how to use the defibrillator in case of an emergency.”

Danielle Norman, Charitable Fund Manager for Yorkshire Ambulance Service Charity, added: “We’re delighted to support Cara with this project. Installing defibrillators, in partnership with local communities, is part of our mission to save more lives by enabling everyone to deal with a medical emergency.

“Every year, around 30,000 people suffer a sudden cardiac arrest. For every minute which goes by without CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and defibrillation, the patient’s chance of survival decreases by around 10%.

“The Charity is fully committed to helping Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust provide the best possible treatment for all patients. We know that early CPR and public access defibrillators really can make a difference in those vital first minutes after someone suffers a cardiac arrest.”

If effective treatment is provided immediately, lives can be saved and disability reduced.

Paul Stevens, Head of Community Resilience at Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust, said: “Using a defibrillator, which delivers a controlled electric shock to stop the heart so that it can naturally return to a normal rhythm, is very straightforward and can be carried out by anyone, as the machine itself talks the user through what to do step-by-step.

“We are very supportive of local communities having their own defibrillator located in a public place with an access code easily available from the ambulance service.

“They have the potential to help to save more lives and are an important asset to a local community, particularly those in rural settings, and in places where there are large numbers of people such as schools and sports centres.”

More information about how you can support Yorkshire Ambulance Service Charity is available at www.yascharity.org.uk