Community champions supports life saving initiative

Hartlepool based charity DS43 Community Defibrillators is receiving a £1,000 donation from Community Champions.

Bill Shurmer of DS43 Defibrillators tells the charity’s story: “My son Danny died suddenly in June 2021 at the age of 43 as the result of a cardiac arrest. There was no public access defibrillator in the vicinity, so my wife and I and the two first responders who attended Danny decided to set up a group with the aim of installing three defibrillators on the estate.

“We raised enough money to achieve this very quickly and as Danny's story touched the hearts of so many people, we decided to aim to ensure that every house in Hartlepool has access to a public defibrillator within 500 metres, which will require 31 in total. Having access to a defibrillator in such circumstances increases the chance of survival massively. For every minute that someone is in cardiac arrest without receiving CPR and having a defibrillator applied, their chance of survival decreases by 10%.

“In addition to raising the £35,000 we need to purchase the defibrillators, we also want to ensure there is enough money available to properly maintain them and keep them in working order.

“Our effort has been and continues to be for everyone in our town, cardiac arrest doesn’t discriminate, nor do we. As more people find out what we are doing, the more support we get with many groups and associations now all raising funds on our behalf. The £1,000 Community Champions award given to us by Persimmon Homes Teesside is tremendous and enables us to buy a further defibrillator to help keep our community safe, a massive thank you from all of us.”

Joan Peart, sales director for our Teesside region, added: “This cause is so important, some of the recent high-profile incidents have demonstrated what a difference quick access to a defibrillator can make when it comes to saving lives. We are really pleased to be able to help this worthwhile cause.”