By Isle of Wight Observer
There’s no greater gift than the gift of life and that’s exactly what the Wight Strollers gave again this Christmas when they donated, another two Public Access Defibrillators (PADs) to the IW NHS Trust Ambulance Community Defibrillator scheme.
Thanks to proceeds from their performances the Wight Strollers have now donated a total of nine Public Access Defibrillators (PAD’s) to the scheme; the latest additions were funded from their last musical, Priscilla.
As a small token of the IW NHS Trust’s huge appreciation of the Wight Strollers donations, the Amateur Theatre group were presented with an ‘Award of Commendation’ by the IW NHS Trust Director of Nursing, Dr Barbara Stuttle, CBE and the Head of the Ambulance Service, Victoria White.
The image shows the White Strollers together with Deborah Chillingworth, the landlady of the Sportsmen’s Rest, where defibrillator No 8 has been placed.
Defibrillator number 9 has been presented and brought into service at The Sun Inn in Hulverstone. The Sun was chosen due to its remote location and the large footfall.
Louise Walker, from the IW Ambulance Service, said: “A defibrillator is used in the event of a cardiac arrest. Once the defibrillator pads are put onto the casualty’s chest, it will analyse their heart rhythm and, if required, will advise an electric shock is given safely.”
“To increase the casualty’s chance of survival a defibrillator needs to be there ideally within three minutes of the cardiac arrest, so it is absolutely crucial we have as many of the life-saving devices available to our community as possible.
The landlord of the Sun Inn said that the box to house the defibrillator turned up this morning (January 3) and he called his handyman to install the device at 2 pm. By 3.30 pm, it had been installed and was ready to save lives. He added that the Sun Inn defibrillator was of particular importance as Hulverstone was such a remote location.
Isle of Wight Observer