COMMUNITY groups in Redditch have pulled together to install a new public access defibrillator at the Redi Centre.
Council Leader Matt Dormer was on hand to lend his support and unveil the brand new life saving equipment at the South Street centre. The new ‘restart a heart’ facility has been made possible through a partnership between Redditch Kingfisher Rotary Club, whose members raised the initial funds to purchase the equipment, and Redditch Youth and Community Enterprise (RYCE) which runs the Redi Centre and will be covering the ongoing costs and carry out monthly checks.
“As a local Rotary Club our long term ambition is to raise funds and install a community access defibrillator in every district of Redditch,” said Tina Howard, president elect of Redditch Kingfisher Rotary.
“Over the last year we have been successf
“ul in raising enough for a new defibrillator, and our contacts with RYCE made the Redi Centre the perfect choice for our next installation. We saw recently how vital defibrillators are in saving lives and restarting hearts in the Denmark Euro 2020 football match and while we hope these never have to be used, we see these as a vital resource for our local community.”
Ray Groves of RYCE added: “We are opening up the Redi Centre more now lockdown restrictions are easing and seeing more people visiting the centre so we were delighted when Redditch Kingfisher Rotary approached us.
“We were happy to take on responsibility for ongoing checks and maintenance and fortunate to have the assistance of local company PJA Electrics to help us install it, waiving their usual charges in support of this fantastic public facility.”
National charity the Community Heartbeat Trust, will also be providing free training sessions, at a future date, which the public can attend, to ensure anyone can use the defibrillator correctly in an emergency.
