Charity urges people and businesses to help support lifesaving defibrillators in Harborough

A top national charity is imploring people and businesses to help support lifesaving defibrillators in Market Harborough

The heartfelt SoS is being sent out by the Community Heartbeat Trust (CHT) charity.

The UK’s leading community defibrillator operation has set up 15 devices in Market Harborough.

The crucial pieces of medical equipment have been used to save people’s lives in the town.

They restore a normal heartbeat by sending an electric pulse or shock to the stricken patient’s heart.

But Martin Fagan, the charity’s national secretary, said the defibrillators each cost about £135 a year to maintain – and they need to top up their severely-depleted funds now.

Based in Melton Mowbray, Martin said: “CHT has placed or is placing a total of 15 sites into Market Harborough, 10 with the support of the Market Harborough and Bowdens charity.

“We are keen to get help to look after six defibrillators in the town.

“Along with many other charities and good causes our income has dropped dramatically during the Covid pandemic over the last year or so.

“So we are appealing to people to make a donation to us or local businesses to help sponsor our devices,” he said.

“We could put up a little plaque at the spot thanking them.

“We have installed defibrillators all over Market Harborough.

“We’ve set them up at key places like the railway station, outside a scout hut, at a couple of churches and at the Market Harborough and Bowdens Charity.

“We were launched in 2009.

“And we have now set up 6,500 defibrillators all over the UK – from the Shetlands in the north to Cornwall in the south.

“We were the first people to go to BT to put them in their old phone kiosks.

“Some of our defibrillators have been used in Market Harborough to save people’s lives.

“They can obviously be the difference between life and death,” said Martin.

“The equipment is very much part of a systematic process because you have to do chest compressions on the patient as well.

“All of our defibrillators have a mini TV screen showing you what to do.

“And they are all designed to be used by untrained people.

“So you don’t have to be a first-aid or medical expert.”

Martin said that a defibrillator, as part of the rescue, can save up to 75 per cent of cardiac arrest victims as the ‘Chain of Survival’ is followed.

This is:

- Recognise it is an emergency

- Call 999

- Start chest compressions asap, pref within 60 seconds

- Use a defibrillator asap.

“We also run regular training sessions – although that’s clearly been much harder to do during the pandemic,” he said.

“We have defibrillators in a lot of villages around Market Harborough too.

“They are vital pieces of equipment and we would really appreciate any help that you can give us to help maintain them and keep them in the town.”

You can hand donations to [email protected] or via the charity’s donate page at https://communityheartbeat.enthuse.com/Donate#!/