We Have Received A Grant For A Defibrillator

Mid Sussex Council has given Age UK East Grinstead and District a grant to install a life-saving defibrillator at our Swan Mead Activity Centre in Queens Road, East Grinstead. One of our trustees, John Prigent said “We are immensely grateful to the Council for this grant, and now only need to raise a few extra pounds to pay for installing the device. Many of our 300-plus members are in the at-risk age group for heart attacks, and with up to 50 present at the Centre in daytime on weekdays this has been a worry because the nearest public defibrillator is too far away to be retrieved and brought to our Centre within the ‘golden five minutes’ for successful resuscitation from a heart attack. I have lost family members to heart attacks so I know only too well the impact one can have on the remaining family.”

But this defibrillator is not going to be locked away inside Swan Mead. The grant is enough to pay for an all-weather case with a light and an interference alarm, and the equipment will be sited outside our Centre so that our neighbours in the area can access it as a public service in case of need. It will be fully automated, with on-screen instructions for use so that even an untrained person can use it to help a casualty. However, we still need to raise some money to pay for the cost of an electrician’s work to install the equipment and to buy spare parts. If you would like to contribute to the cost of installing the defibrillator then please contact Barry Gilbert at operations@ageukeastgrinstead.org.uk or call 01342 327046.