Harrogate students raise money for life-saving equipment

Students at Rossett School in Harrogate have raised more than £1,000 to fund a public access defibrillator.

They took part in a sponsored CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) event during last year’s Restart a Heart Day, which was organised by Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust.

The annual campaign teaches children how to perform CPR when someone suffers a cardiac arrest.

The new defibrillator, which can be used to help restart the heart with an electric shock, has been installed outside the Prince of Wales pub on Starbeck High Street.

Helen Rogers, First Aid and Health Manager at Rossett School, said: “I’m absolutely ecstatic. The fact that we managed to get it in place just before Christmas, what a fantastic Christmas present for the Starbeck community.

“The students did an absolutely fantastic job. I’m really pleased and really proud.”

The project has been supported by the Restart Yorkshire initiative and donations from the community, which is now raising money for another public access defibrillator to be installed at the other side of the level crossing in Starbeck.

Money has also been raised for a training unit to show people how to use a defibrillator at awareness sessions.

In the last four years, more than 1,200 public access defibrillators have been installed across Yorkshire.

Dave Jones, Community Defibrillation Officer at Yorkshire Ambulance Service, said: “We know that if we can get a defibrillator on someone within the first two or three minutes of a cardiac arrest happening, there’s about an 85% chance of survival. For every minute in time delay, not having equipment available and waiting for an ambulance to arrive, they’ll lose somewhere between 7% and 10% of a chance, so having a defibrillator locally can make a massive difference.

“It’s only possible with people who are out there fundraising and actively trying to get these defibrillators in place. There can be a little bit of hesitancy to use the equipment because of a lack of familiarity with it, so if we can get young people involved, they can then go out and educate other people.”