Life-saving equipment installed in Broughton Astley

Life-saving defibrillators have been installed in Broughton Astley.

Social housing provider Platform Housing Group has granted the funding to the parish council to ensure residents have access to the vital equipment which has been installed in an old telephone box.Parish council spokeswoman, Anita Percy, said: “We are delighted that the two new defibrillators have now been installed in a decommissioned telephone kiosk on Coventry Road and at Frolesworth Road Recreation Ground. Both are now working fully and registered with the ambulance service.

“The funding provided by Platform Housing Group, along with the other kind donations, has made the provision and installation of these vitally important defibrillators, for the local people of Broughton Astley, possible.”

The grant is part of a scheme called Community Chest Funding which Platform customers, local charities, clubs and other not-for-profit organisations can apply for if their work directly benefits local Platform customers.

Marion Duffy, Platform’s chief operations officer, said: “Our Community Chest Fund was set up to directly support customers in our local communities, so it’s great to have been able to help Broughton Astley Parish Council provide these defibrillators, particularly as research shows that accessing these devices within three to five minutes of a cardiac arrest increases the chance of survival by over 40 per cent.“It's also lovely to hear that an old telephone box has been repurposed to provide a home for one of the defibrillators, which is a really innovative way to recycle something no longer used.”