The Cheltenham Trust has welcomed the donation of a lifesaving public access defibrillator from the Public Hearts Defibrillator Campaign.

The fully automatic defibrillator and its cabinet, valued at more than £2,200, has been provided by the campaign which was launched in 2018 to raise awareness about out of hospital cardiac arrests, and to provide life-saving equipment in public places in Cheltenham.

The Public Hearts Defibrillator Campaign founder Clare Seed said: “It is wonderful to support The Cheltenham Trust; renowned for their iconic buildings and superb services with this public access defibrillator at Leisure at Cheltenham, and we hope this is the first of more to come.

“Public Hearts is committed to raising awareness and numbers of defibrillators in Cheltenham to give access for all through our not-for-profit community campaign.”

The defibrillator is the first of a series to be installed at the trust’s venues, Pittville Pump Room, The Wilson Art Gallery and Museum, and Cheltenham Town Hall, this year, subject to planning consents.

Laurie Bell, chief executive of The Cheltenham Trust, said: “We are pleased to be working with the Public Hearts community campaign helping to bring potentially life-saving defibrillators to more locations in Cheltenham.

The trust has defibrillators at Leisure at Cheltenham, and our other venues, and this public defibrillator will supplement that coverage as it will be available for use by the public any time, day or night in the case of an emergency.”

 This new public access defibrillator at Leisure at Cheltenham, Tommy Taylors Lane, GL50 4RN, is available 24/7 and accessible to all in the event of a medical emergency by calling 999.

In the event of an emergency where someone is suspected of suffering a cardiac arrest, no training is needed to use a defibrillator. Always call 999 and the Emergency Call Handler gives specific guidance in a medical emergency. The defibrillator also speaks real-time instructions for CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and potentially, administering a shock in a cardiac arrest.

The automatic defibrillator delivers a high energy shock to the heart of someone in cardiac arrest. There are around 30,000 out of hospital cardiac arrests in the UK every year, but the survival rate is only around one in ten. If a defibrillator is deployed in the vital minutes following a cardiac arrest the survival rates can be as high as 80% if applied in the first 2 minutes.

Public Hearts Defib Hub contains key information including links to The Circuit to register a defibrillator and DefibFinder for a map of the ten nearest registered defibrillators anywhere in the UK. To see the location of defibrillators in Cheltenham visit the dedicated Public Hearts Defib Hub or contact 01242 371 999.