Press Release: Freeman’s Guild team up with Coventry Cathedral to Start a Heart

A Coventry campaign to make defibrillators as common in public areas as fire extinguishers has had another important boost.

The City of Coventry Freeman’s Guild has donated £1,000 to Coventry Cathedral to fund a defibrillator and training through the Derek Higgs Start a Heart Appeal.

The Freeman’s Guild has also donated a further £1,000 to the appeal, which launched in April in memory of former Coventry City chairman and successful businessman Sir Derek Higgs who died of a heart attack last year.

A defibrillator is used to restart a victim’s heart after they have suffered a cardiac arrest, and with around 500 cardiac arrest victims in Coventry every year, it is a welcome initiative to the city as it becomes one of the first in the country to exceed adequate provision and have widespread access to the life-saving machines.

Every year the City of Coventry Freeman’s Guild raises money for local charities, and it is the incoming master’s task of choosing the main recipient who will benefit from its fundraising efforts. 

Jim Parry, Master of the Freeman’s Guild, said: “This year as master I chose the Start a Heart Appeal, and with the Guild’s help intend to purchase two defibrillators. 

“I am delighted to be able to fulfill the first part of our intentions and present the appeal with sufficient funding to purchase the first defibrillator, which along with training in its use, is to go to the Coventry Cathedral. 

“I feel it is so important that these portable life-saving machines are introduced as quickly as possible and the raising of their awareness in the city should be paramount, although I do hope that not a single one of the machines will ever have to be used.”

The Derek Higgs Start a Heart Appeal is well over half way to raising the £50,000 needed to fund 50 defibrillators for public areas and organisations across Coventry and train people how to use them.

Martin Haywood, of Coventry Cathedral, said: “All of us here at Coventry Cathedral want to give the best experience we can to all our visitors whether they come here for services or as tourists – and that includes being prepared for the worst.

“Our first-aid team has recently undertaken some refresher training and now we are delighted at the gift of a defibrilator from the Freeman’s Guild which will enhance the range of first aid which our team can offer.

“Without the generosity of the Guild we would not have been able to fund this equipment for ourselves and so their gift is doubly appreciated at this time.”

For more information on the Derek Higgs Start a Heart Appeal call 08444 120552 or go to www.startaheartcov.com

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS:

* For every minute that passes after a cardiac arrest, the chance of survival decreases by 10 per cent – this can be radically improved if a normal heart rhythm can be restored before a paramedic arrives.

* A defibrillator interprets the heartbeat and can give a controlled electric shock to restore the heart’s normal rhythm.

* The Derek Higgs Start a Heart Appeal allows organisations to purchase a defibrillator for £1,000 through the appeal, which includes a free accredited basic life support training course for staff with West Midlands Ambulance Service which would normally cost between £250 and £300, and includes cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and how to use a defibrillator.

* Organisations already signed-up to the appeal include the Coventry Transport Museum, Shortland Horne, Finham Park Comprehensive School, Ricoh Arena, Inspire Bar, Warwick Arts Centre, narrow boat Coventrian, The Alan Higgs Centre, and St Peter's Centre in Hillfields.
     
* Organisations which have donated £1,000 for a defibrillator to be placed in a community centre or charity organisation and the training of its staff, include Harrison Beale and Owen, Arena Coventry Limited, G Casino, Bob Brolly's Friends, and The Master of the Freeman’s Guild (x2).

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