NORTH Staffordshire Medical Institute is thrilled to announce it has reached its fundraising target of £1,999 for a community defibrillator.

The lifesaving machine, supplied by Stone-based charity AED Donate, will be mounted on an outside wall of the Institute’s premises in Hartshill Road, Stoke-on-Trent, for members of the public to use in an emergency.

It is due to be installed following a year-long campaign to raise the funds, led by Institute manager Jacqui Robinson.

She said: “I’m thrilled because it’s such a good cause and it’s great to see how the community have come together to help. It has been very rewarding.

“We’ve had support from AED, councillor Sean Pender, Hartshill and Harpfields’ Occasions, the local Residents Association and the Rotary Club, as well as local residents.”

Installation

The Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) will be mounted in a vandal-proof, heat-regulated cabinet that will open with a security code available from West Midlands Ambulance Service.

It is designed to be easy to use by members of the public, even without training, under guidance from 999 operators.

The equipment will be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, should anyone suffer a cardiac arrest in the Institute or surrounding area.

Jacqui added: “So many people die from cardiac arrests every year – you just have to look at the statistics.

“The defibrillator will be of benefit to the whole community as well as visitors to the Institute. We would like to thank everyone for all their kind donations.”

The Medical Institute recently contributed the final £337.41 to the fundraising total.

Around 30,000 people suffer Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrests in the UK each year, of which 20% take place in public places.

If a defibrillator is used and effective CPR is performed within three to five minutes of a cardiac arrest, survival chances increase from just 6% to 74%.

For more information about AED Donate, visit their website at https://aeddonate.org.uk/.