Sherburn Hill welcomes four life saving defibrillators
Life saving devices are to be installed in and around a County Durham village, thanks to efforts from the local community and a celebrated North East charity.
Following six months of fundraising, residents around Sherburn Hill are set to welcome four public accessible defibrillators across the local area.
Installed by McVickers Electrical Contractors on behalf of the Red Sky Foundation, the units use voice prompts to guide people using them, analyse the heartbeat for any anomalies and will only deliver a shock if needed.
And the heart health charity has also organised a number of free sessions covering first aid, CPR and defibrillation, to give those in the village the extra confidence to act should they witness a sudden cardiac arrest.
Councillor David Hall for Sherburn and surrounding areas is delighted that the public now have access to the lifesaving units.
“It’s been great to work with Sergio and the fantastic Red Sky Foundation using some of our community funds to install so many new defibrillators around the area, along with all of the organisations which have also generously donated funds,” he said.
“It is my hope we can continue to look at further new locations in the future.”
Vicky Cuff, spokesperson for Taylormade Timber – one of the local businesses which helped fund the project – said: “We are really pleased to be able to support such a great initiative.
“Sherburn Hill is a relatively rural location, so knowing that we can help someone in our local community through the availability of life saving treatment means a lot to us.
“You always hope that these facilities are not required often, but it’s good to know they’re there if anyone needs them.”
The Red Sky Foundation was set up by Sergio and Emma Petrucci to give something back to the Children’s Heart Unit at Newcastle’s Freeman Hospital following their daughter’s life saving heart surgery.
The couple have raised more than £550,000 to date towards new equipment and facilities for hospitals across the region, along with purchasing defibrillators for key North East sites.
For more information about the Red Sky Foundation, visit www.redskyfoundation.com