Hoole welcomes a new life-saving arrival thanks to local PCSO

Visitors to Faulkner Street in Hoole may have noticed a conspicuous new arrival – in the form of a bright yellow defibrillator outside Sea Breeze Chippie.

The new device comes thanks to local PCSO Keith Bartlett with support from businesses and councillors. 

Defibrillators are considered a vital piece of medical equipment with the potential of keeping people alive when they have gone into cardiac failure.

Earlier this year PCSO Bartlett became aware that while there was a defibrillator at nearby Hoole community centre, the device could only be accessed when the centre was open.

Following the discovery, PCSO Bartlett brought all the relevant parties together to help fix the problem.  

Costing around £1,500, the new defibrillator has been funded by the three local councillors Richard Beacham, Adam Langan and Gill Watson from their members’ budgets.

After securing the funding, PCSO Bartlett arranged with George Petrou, from the Sea Breeze, to house the new device on his outside wall and consulted with Nick Blair, from North West Ambulance, to ensure it met the right criteria.

PCSO Bartlett said: “Defibrillators really can be the difference between life and death and you never know when you’re going to need one, so it’s essential that residents have access 24/7.

“I’d like to thank George for agreeing to place the new device outside his premises and also all the councillors for agreeing to fund it.

“This really is a vital piece of equipment and while I hope that it will never have to be used, it’s good to know that it’s there in an emergency.”

In the event that you ever need to use the defibrillator please call 999 first and the operator will supply the code to open it.

Pictured - Cllr Gill Watsonm Cllr Richard Beacham, PCSO Keith Bartlett, Nick Blair, Cllr Adam Langan and George Petrou.