Nine thousand hearts benefit from defib donations

The West Yorkshire village of Riddlesden has been given a lifeline with the donation of a defibrillator which has been installed at Airedale Cricket Club.

It is the fourth defibrillator donated by Cross Hills-based Airedale Chemical in their local community in the last three years meaning that around 9,000 people now have the life-saving equipment in their villages thanks to the chemical company.

Barbara Cox, secretary of Airedale Cricket Club, explains: “Sadly, there are more than 3,000 cardiac arrests outside of hospitals in Yorkshire each year, with only 1 in 10 of those people surviving. With this defibrillator we’re in a much stronger position to save the lives of our residents with survival rates rising up to 90% when used within one minute and about 74% when defibrillators are used within three to five minutes of cardiac arrest.

“Therefore, we’re incredibly grateful to Airedale Chemical for this most valuable of donations which will be a great comfort to all the club’s cricketers and to our local residents.”

In 2017 Airedale Group launched the Airedale Foundation, its charitable arm aimed at helping causes and groups in the company’s community, which has been behind the rollout of defibrillators in the area.

Chris Chadwick, managing director of Airedale Chemical, adds: “We are committed to giving as much back to our communities as possible and have enjoyed close links with local schools, parish councils and other organisations other the last few years. However, during the last 12 months it has been much more difficult to engage with our neighbours due to lockdown restrictions.

“But by continuing our programme of defibrillators we have been able to ensure we’re still contributing something positive to our local and wider community. We’re looking forward to resuming our usual community activities as the year goes on.”