A developer has donated a public access defibrillator (PAD) to a West Lothian community.
As part of a joint initiative with the British Heart Foundation (BHF), Taylor Wimpey is donating potentially lifesaving PADs to communities around the UK to help people who suffer from an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.
While work is completed for now at its nearby Heartlands development a defibrillator has been made available to St Joseph’s Church in Whitburn, and it is now located within an external cabinet off Raeburn Crescent in the grounds of the church.
Taylor Wimpey has also committed to ensuring all of its defibrillators are registered on The Circuit – the national defibrillator network, which connects defibrillators to NHS ambulance services across the UK, so that in those crucial moments after a cardiac arrest they can be accessed quickly to help save lives.
Deryck Schendel, regional health and safety advisor for Taylor Wimpey in Scotland, said: “It’s so important to us that we give something back to the communities in which we’re building. Our partnership with the BHF is vitally important in helping to ensure that more defibrillators are available for people who might need them and we are proud to be able to make this equipment readily accessible in Whitburn.”
Estelle Stephenson, survival programme lead at the British Heart Foundation, said: “More than 30,000 people suffer a cardiac arrest outside of hospital every year but less than one in ten survive. More people could be saved if everyone felt confident performing CPR and using a public access defibrillator.
“We are delighted that Taylor Wimpey has contributed to the aims of the BHF by making a public access defibrillator available at St Joseph’s Church in Whitburn. It could really make the difference between life and death.”
Deacon Ronnie, spokesman for St Joseph’s Church said: “We can’t thank Taylor Wimpey and the BHF enough for this defibrillator. While we hope that we don’t have to use it, it’s fantastic to know that we can access a defibrillator in the event of an emergency and hopefully help to save someone’s life.”
David MacDonald, Whitburn and District Community Development Trust adds: “Thank you to Taylor Wimpey for working in partnership with the CDT to donate the public access defibrillator to St Joseph’s Church in Whitburn.
“This kind donation expands the network of life saving devices across the town which can help save someone’s life.”
A defibrillator is a portable device that can be used by anyone to help restart the heart when someone suffers from a cardiac arrest and has stopped breathing.
No specific training is needed and the device will only deliver a shock to the heart if necessary.
When someone has a cardiac arrest, every second counts. For every minute thatw passes without defibrillation and CPR the chances of survival decrease by around 10 per cent.
For more information on CPR, defibrillators and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, or how you can help BHF create a Nation of Lifesavers, visit https://www.bhf.org.uk/cpr
Further information about The Circuit is available at https://www.thecircuit.uk/
To find out more about the other ways that Taylor Wimpey supports local communities, visit www.taylorwimey.co.uk/media-centre/news.
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