Grantham club unveils defibrillator outside shopping centre

Rotary club has unveiled a defibrillator in the town centre after local organisations and businesses made donations.

The Rotary Club of Grantham Kesteven unveiled the defibrillator in narrow Westgate outside the entrance to The George Centre.

The club has provided the life-saving machine thanks to contributions from the RotarySwimarathon, Margaret Brown Trust, the Market Traders Association, Police Cadets and local businesses in the surrounding area.

Mike Charity, of the Rotary club, said: “The defibrillator is a vital piece of life-saving equipment in the event of cardiac arrest when time is precious. Unlike most defibrillators, which are in locked cabinets, and in order to save valuable time, this one is in an unlocked, weatherproof cabinet and available instantly.

“This defibrillator has been obtained through Community Heartbeat who will insure and maintain it for an annual fee. The Rotary club will carry out weekly checks.

“With this special equipment anyone can save a life – if you are unfortunate enough to find someone unconscious, not breathing, gurgling and gone a funny colour, first dial 999, get someone to fetch a defibrillator, then start chest compressions using both hands clasped together 30 times and repeat after two seconds until a defibrillator or ambulance arrives. The defibrillator will talk you through the process of application.”

The defibrillator project was instigated 15 months ago by club past president Sue Kinder and taken on board by Rotarians Graham Smith and Mike Charity to see it through to conclusion.