Defibrillator(s) for the Alcester Park area

Together we can make Alcester safer.

Hi, my name is Christel Larsen and I live in Alcester Park.

On Saturday 27 April, I was part of a 6-person group, who helped a young man back to life at the Greig Leisure Centre. He survived thanks to the CPR he was given plus the defibrillator (AED) in place at the leisure centre.

After arriving home at Alcester Park in the afternoon, I started thinking about where the closest defibrillator was, if God forbid, one in my household - or one of my neighbours needed one - and a quick tour on www.defibfinder.uk made it clear that the closest registered AED is the one at Alcester Grammar School (AGS), however this is only accessible during their opening hours. The second closest is at Minerva Mill, and it's available 24/7. But and there is a huge but... According to British Heart Foundation an AED should be no further from you than 2 minutes each way, and even though Minerva Mill is close to us - I cannot access it in 2 minutes even if I run fast - and it would take longer to drive there, if I had to get in my car first.

I also found on British Heart Foundation's website that less than 10% survive an out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (this is an average; it's lower for women after MeToo), and defibrillators are currently used in less than 5% of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests.

The role of a defibrillator is to buy time until the emergency services arrive. Chances of survival decreases by up to 10% every minute that passes without CPR and defibrillation. In the UK there are more than 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests each year. Cardiac arrests are not something only old people suffer from. The lad I helped was physically fit and 24 years old, it can happen to us all - young and old. It can be a resident or a visitor in our home; parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren or friends.

Alcester Park is a new estate and once it's finished it will count 350 homes. Just in front of Alcester Park we have the existing estate on Roebuck Park, Jephcott Close, Allwoods Close, Eclipse Road and Icknield Row plus the homes on Birmingham Road itself. And we are all in the same boat, too far away from a defibrillator with access 24/7.

The Bloor Homes' site office has a defibrillator but just as with the one at Alcester Grammar School, it is not accessible out of working hours, when most of us are at home in the evening and during the weekends and bank holidays, where we are likely to have visitors too. Bloor Homes normally donate an AED to the housing estate when the site finishes - but this is still years out in the future. We could need one just now as I'm writing this.

I have reached out to Bloor Homes, who referred me to the managing company Trinity Estates, who referred me back to Bloor Homes as they haven't adopted Alcester Park yet. Therefore, I reached out to Alcester Town Council, who has been very supportive if we fundraise for the AED itself plus the cabinet, which protects the defibrillator from the weather and maintains a constant temperature to ensure the defibrillator battery is maintained in optimum working order. Once we have the funds, Alcester Town Council will then help us with finding the perfect location (we have a few in mind) and make sure we get the permission to install it. Ideally the area west of Birmingham Road between the Roebuck Pub and Minerva Mill could do with 3 defibrillators - and if we manage to reach our initial goal of £1,500 then we will proceed to fundraise for the next. Ideally the goal is £4,500 - but we'll reach for one at the time.

The defibrillator(s) will need new pads after every use and a new battery when the old runs flat, and then we will have to fundraise again. There is no other way, as I have tried to collaborate with the managing company of Alcester Park, so we could do a small monthly donation together with the planned maintenance fee. Unfortunately, due to the legal agreement which the property owners’ sign, it does not allow for life saving equipment to be installed and maintained via the service charges, so a new fundraising will be inevitable for the maintenance of the defibrillator(s).

I hope the community of Alcester will pull together and help to make all of Alcester a safe place to live. Our chance of survival shouldn’t be dependent on where in Alcester we live.