South Yorkshire man who survived cardiac arrest backs plans for more defibrillators in schools
Bob Reville collapsed in Meadowhall 10 years ago at the age of 44
A South Yorkshire man-who suffered a cardiac arrest in Meadowhall 10 years ago-tells us it's 'important for local communities' to have better access to defibrillators.
54-year-old Bob Reville from Sheffield collapsed at the shopping centre in 2013-but security staff there were able to use a defibrillator on him-which helped to save his life.
Now, he's backing fresh government plans to make sure every school in England has one on site by the end of the current academic year:
"With a cardiac arrest, it can be anybody who's affected.
"It could be a 4-year-old boy or a 60-year-old that has one.
"Obviously, with schools, you've got a lot of people in those buildings every day.
"The more defibrillators there are around, the better it is.
"It's not just better for the school, it's better for the entire community, because it means there will always be a local defibrillator somewhere.
"There's data bases where the defibrillators will be put on, so the 999 call handlers will know where they all are.
"Some of these schools can be based in quite rural locations.
"It may be that there wouldn't be any other chance of survival if someone suffers a cardiac arrest, so it's positive in so many different ways."
The Department for Education says it's currently delivering defibrillators to schools in England-under plans to make sure every school in the country has one in place by the end of the academic year to help prevent tragedies.