Two further publicly available defibrillators have been installed in the North Yorkshire town of Richmond thanks to generous donations from local businesses and individuals, coordinated by charity: Heart of Richmond.
Following the installation of the first unit on Darlington Road to service Whitefields, St Nicholas Road and Ronaldshay which was largely funded by a grant from the council, Heart of Richmond has continued its campaign to raise funds to provide this life-saving equipment across the town.
The charity is spearheaded by ex-forces family man, Lee Whitworth, a volunteer community responder who owns A&E Harmonious Compliance Training Limited with his wife, schoolteacher Alison, and Laura ‘Loo’ Morton from Neeps & Tatties Greengrocers.
Lee explains: “According to the British Heart Foundation, in the event of cardiac arrest, every minute without CPR and defibrillation reduces the chances of survival by 10 per cent. For us, it’s of critical importance to improve people’s chances of survival and we would like to see a unit within half a mile of all Richmond houses.
“My work is dedicated to teaching people not just to save lives, but to have the confidence to do so. Having these units available means that a 999 operator can direct a caller to the nearest box, give them the access code and talk them through the process of using the defibrillator. This can quite literally mean the difference between life and death for the patient.”
A defibrillator has been installed on Gallowfields Trading Estate thanks to donations from Ply-Line Services, CJ Tennant, Gallowgate Motors, Richmond Motor Services, Aerial Exposure, Suzy Scissor Hands, Top Gun Paint Repair, Richmond Classic Motorcycle Restoration, Exhaust A Fix, Oasis Cladding, Victoria Garage, Dowse of Richmond, Caygill Cycles, KH Heating, R & W Gibson Tiling, Castle View Fireplaces, Swale Autos, Paul Olivier Furniture, Richmond Garage Services, R.Bramley Motors, Lambs Welding, Gillys Trade Supplies, Centre Barks, Mac Plant, Crisop Accountancy and Mr Steve Moss.
A further unit has been installed on Reeth Road thanks to donations from The Company of Mercers, Grocers & Haberdashers of Richmond, and also the town’s population.
Lee continues: “We’re so grateful to everyone who has donated and helped to make these defibrillators available, and would welcome support to enable us to continue this important work. We also welcome suggestions for the location of the next installation.”
