Bid to get defibrillators in all schools passes first stage in Parliament
MPs have voted to progress a bill to make access to defibrillators in all schools compulsory.
MPs have voted to progress a bill to make access to defibrillators in all schools compulsory.
It's following a campaign by the The Oliver King Foundation, which was setup with the aim to see a defibrillator in every school.
The foundation was set up in memory of 12 year old Oliver King who died from Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome during a swimming lesson in Liverpool.
Every single day in the UK, 82 people suffer a sudden cardiac arrest - less than 10 will survive.
Every year in the UK, 270 children die at school from the same condition as Oliver - which takes 12 young people every week.
Today Oliver's family watched on in the House of Commons as MP's pushed their bill on to the next stage - and it will now get a full debate.
Mark King, Founder of The Oliver King Foundation and father of Oliver said:
"It's taken us five years to get this far. This is the start of the process, that we need to get this legislated. Next, we have a five hour debate with a vote at the end of it. That's scheduled to take place in January - that's Oliver's birthday month, he would have been 18. What a legacy to leave.
"There was a lot of support in there for us - I don't think there was one 'no'. I think it was quite easy to get it through in the end.
"It's a major step forward but it's not rocket science, to listen to what defibrillators do. It is working, and we've got to carry on."