THREE new life-saving defibrillators have been installed in Saddleworth and Oldham thanks to the work and donations of local organisations and councillors.
Great Places, Wates and the Oldham and Saddleworth Round Table have been working in partnership with Cllr Alicia Marland, Ward Councillor for Saddleworth West and Lees, and the Primrose and Crossley Community Associations to provide funding for the equipment.
Defibrillators are small machines that can shock a person’s heart into restarting after a cardiac arrest.
According to data from the British Heart Foundation, less than one in 10 people survive an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and a major reason for this is a lack of defibrillators in public spaces.
The defibrillators have been installed outside the Great Places managed Cooper Street development in Springhead, the Primrose Centre at Primrose Bank and The Crossley Centre in Chadderton.
Defibrillators are very easy to use, with no clinical training, and this allows members of the public to become lifesavers.
Steven Shephard, Chair of Oldham and Saddleworth Round Table, said: “Supporting local initiatives like this is exactly what Table look to support to benefit the local community.
“We raise funds through the year through various events exactly for these types of causes. Being able to partner with Great Places, Wates and Cllr Taylor was something we were very keen to support.”
Paul Doherty, Housing Management PFI Manager at Great Places, commented: “On behalf of Great Places, I am proud to have supported this project and I would like to thank our partners not only for helping to fund these new defibrillators but also for arranging to have them installed across our three sites.
“These new defibrillators will allow members of the public to administer vital life-saving treatment and significantly increase the survival chances of anyone who suffering from a cardiac arrest.”
Anthony Grundy, Project Manager at Wates Living Space, added: “Wates are proud to support and be part of the project to supply and install three defibrillators.
“The police and ambulance crews carry defibrillators but putting additional defibrillators across the borough offers a greater chance of life saving treatment to a person suffering from cardiac arrest as more and more are available in the public domain.”
Training on lifesaving CPR is currently being arranged via the partnership and will take place at both community centres. For further info please visit the social media sites of the Crossley and Primrose Centres or the Saddleworth Round Table.
