Local foundation donates lifesaving equipment to all of Dumfries and Galloway’s high schools
Free CPR training will also be provided.
Last updated 23rd Sep 2024
More than a dozen pieces of lifesaving equipment are being donated to high schools in Dumfries and Galloway this week by a dad who lost his son to a cardiac arrest at just 30 years old.
Rodger Hill set up the DH9 Foundation after former St Joseph's College pupil and Parliamentarian David died whilst playing rugby for Holyrood in March 2022 in Dublin.
1\5 defibrillators will be installed in PE departments and school offices across the region, with dad Rodger saying he doesn't want any other family to go through what they have.
“We went through a horrendous and traumatic event, all of David’s family and friends. What we’re trying to do is turn it into something inherently positive and make as much positive gain out of it as we can.
“We’re in this to try and stop other families having to go through what we went through.”
‘We want to make the region’s schools safer’
The DH9 foundation and community partners are also able to provide free CPR training when visiting the region’s secondary schools, starting in Langholm, Annan, and Moffat, and working their way down to Stranraer.
They are hoping this will improve the chain of survival in case someone has a cardiac arrest out of hospital range.
“Research is showing that if you put a defib in a school, it could more likely be used by the adults in the school. However, it’s still there, it’s still a sense that something does happen, then they have the means they get to that machine really quickly.” Rodger Hill adds.
On top of this, the foundation is supporting the Cardiac Risk in the Young charity (CRY) by providing free cardiac screenings for young people in Dumfries and Galloway aged between 14 and 35.
“We’re doing as much as we can whether it’s the defibs, the screening, the CPR training, the awareness raising. All of that is to try and make a difference and to honour our son’s name.”