Defibrillator donated to St Bede's School (From Redditch Advertiser)

Defibrillator donated to St Bede's School

10:10am Monday 18th March 2013 in News

TWO Redditch parents have donated another lifesaving defibrillator to a town school in memory of their teenage daughter.

The equipment has been donated to St Bede’s Catholic Middle School by Robert Underwood and Margaret Prentice in memory of their daughter Charlotte, who died from Sudden Arryhtmic Death Syndromw in December 2010 at just 16 years old. 

Since then, her parents have worked tirelessly to back cardiac charity SADS UK’s Big shock campaign, urging the Government to make defibrillators mandatory in schools. The couple have organised for many schools to benefit from this potentially  lifesaving equipment. 

Defibrillator training at St Bede’s took place yesterday, Tuesday, March 19, and was carried out by West Midlands Ambulance Service.

A defibrillator is the only piece of equipment that will restore the heart rhythm. If a person goes into cardiac arrest, it is crucial that the person is administered a therapeutic shock delivered by the defibrillator as quickly as possible. This gives the person the best chance of survival. The Automated External Defibrillator is easy to use by the layperson, providing voice prompts to the rescuer.

The charity SADS UK supports research into SADS and cardiac equipment in the community to help save lives. 

Anne Jolly, founder of SADS UK, the Ashley Jolly SAD Trust, said: “Robert and Margaret have been dedicated to raising funds to make lifesaving defibrillators available in schools in memory of their daughter Charlotte.

“SADS UK is pleased St Bede’s Catholic Middle School will benefit from having a defibrillator on the premises to restart the heart if a pupil or person on the premises suffers a sudden cardiac arrest.”

For more details on getting a defibrillator installed in a Redditch school, call Anne Jolly on 01277 811215, email info@sadsuk.org or see www.sadsuk.org.