This Thursday sees the launch of two more 24x7 publicly accessible defibrillators in the city centre, with demos and training on this essential lifesaving equipment.
At 11 am on Thursday 28th September, Gloucester City Safe, along with partner organisation Rotary@Kingsholm, Great Western Air Ambulance Charity (GWAAC) and Gloucester Business Improvement District (BID), will be officially launching their fifth and sixth 24x7 accessible defibrillators in the city centre.
This is in addition to the four already installed 24x7 public access defibs with bleed kits, which are located at:
- Eastgate Street (Next to Butlers Bar)
- Eastgate Shopping Centre (Eastgate Street Doors)
- Eastgate Shopping Centre (Southgate Street Doors)
- Gloucester Docks (Albion Terrace Wall – Opp McColls)
This next phase is a milestone achievement and working in partnership with the Rotary, they are now able to fund the following 24x7 public access defibs at the following locations:
- Northgate Street (Installed outside Great Western Air Ambulance Charity Shop on wall)
- Kings Square (Installed outside The Regal, Wetherspoons on wall)
The event on Thursday will include:
11.00am – Revealing of the GWAAC defib and Rotary Plaque with partners – Including the Mayor and the Sheriff of Gloucester
11.30am – Revealing of The Regal defib
Shortly after this, the GWAAC team will be running Defib CRP Demos at 40-44 Kingswalk (in between the Forum shop and The Entertainer), where people can learn how to use the public access defibs – 12pm to 12.30pm and 12.30pm to 1pm.
All are invited to attend this monumental launch event on Thursday to help promote where the units are positioned and train people how to use this life-saving equipment, including press, residents, visitors and business owners, plus their staff.
Gloucester Kingsholm Rotary Club’s new President, Bernard Dunkley, says, “In my year as President of Rotary@Kingsholm I am gifted to choose which Charities to support and fundraise for in the city and local community. Rotary@Kingsholm has always been a club that has focused on local causes where service before self is the main aim.
Looking for a service to support I became aware of the tragic case of Sam Polledri, brother of Jake of Gloucester Rugby, who died aged 24 on 26th February 2022, on a night out with friends in Bristol. He’d had a cardiac arrest and despite being surrounded by four defibrillators – none were publicly available.
Conversely, the case of a local bar manager, who recently survived a cardiac arrest in Gloucester by the quick action of police racing to get a defibrillator.”
The defibrillators installed around the city centre will be available for emergency use for families, visitors and members of the public. We know that fit adults or even youths can collapse during normal activities and that medical intervention in the first few minutes can make all the difference to a patient’s chance of survival. Delays can be life threatening in the case of a cardiac arrest or heart attack. Our Defibrillators are designed to be used with little or no training and have a built-in computer that automatically analyses the patient's heart rhythm to figure out whether a shock will help them and, if so, what level of shock is appropriate.
This is an ongoing project, which will see the next defibs located on Westgate Street and at Gloucester Docks by the Food Dock. There is also work ongoing to maintain the public units with funded pad/battery replacements.
A JustGiving page has been set up by Gloucester Kingsholm Rotary Club to raise vital funds for the Public Access Defib Campaign to ensure more units can be installed. Find out more here - https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/publicaccessdefibrillatorcampaign