Chamber Training Receives Life-Saving Equipment
We would like to thank John Collings who came to visit Chamber Training along with a Defibrillator to put in our building. John owns Heartbeat, a Coventry charity dedicated to providing life-saving equipment across Coventry and the UK. In conversation with John Collings of Heartbeat, we asked him to tell us how he became involved with the charity:
“I was asked, by a heart transplant recipient, if I could help, as the charity was struggling. Sadly, the founder passed away and the charity was wound up. But I could see the need for defibrillators in community buildings, so I started Heartbeat and registered it as a charity in 2008. Our funds for the defibrillators are raised through public donations in pubs and supermarkets. We acted as a catalyst for supermarkets who have now paid for their own defibrillators in stores across the UK.
Organisations who want a defibrillator send a letter asking for one, with their reasons attached. We will have a conversation. We work with the groups who approach us. Heartbeat operates throughout England and Wales and has placed 300 defibrillators in pubs, clubs, churches and other community venues. Recently we paid for seven defibrillators, four of which have been placed around Coventry, one in Scotland, one in Wales and another in Doncaster.
Heartbeat is a small team - one part-time paid administrator and fundraiser, help deliver training to groups and community organisations on how to use a defibrillator. They also work with ambulance services to identify hotspots for cardiac arrests.
Defibrillators are much more efficient than cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Every minute counts if the person is to survive - there is 80% chance of survival after a minute, and this decreases every minute after.”
