LIFESAVING cardiac defibrillators will be donated to schools in Frodsham and Helsby by councillors aiming to boost first-aid provision in the neighbouring communities.
Four public access defibrillators are currently located in Frodsham at the leisure centre in Princeway, Overton Village Store in Hillside Road, Gates’ Garage in Bride Lane and Taylor’s Opticians in Eddisbury Square.
They were sponsored two years ago by the town council and former Frodsham Cllr Andrew Dawson, who initiated and supported the scheme with a donation from his Cheshire West and Chester Council personal member’s budget.
Now he and fellow borough councillors Lynn Riley and Les Ford want to extend the community defibrillator programme, and they have pledged further donations from their budgets that will see the lifesaving devices, costing about £1,000 each, placed in all four primary schools in Frodsham, Helsby’s two primary schools and Helsby High School within the next few weeks.
“Having this vital equipment in schools is very important but it’s also a question of trying to encourage more people to get interested in first aid, and this will hopefully help children to learn more about that as well,” said Cllr Dawson.
The automated defibrillator is a small portable device and volunteers will be offered training to operate it.
The community scheme is backed by the British Heart Foundation and North West Ambulance, which are informed of locations of public access defibrillators, so that anyone calling 999 can be directed to the nearest device for use, if necessary, before an ambulance arrives.
The survival rate for cardiac arrest victims jumps from 2% to 90% if a defibrillator is used early enough.
