A POTENTIALLY lifesaving piece of equipment has been installed in a Hare Hatch garden centre.
Dobbies has teamed up with the British Heart Foundation (BHF) to install the defibrillator and launch a CPR training programme among its staff to help improve survival rates from cardiac arrest.
It says there are more than 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in the UK each year, but fewer than one in 10 people survive, often because those around them don’t have the skills or confidence to perform CPR.
All 4,000 team members working for Dobbies are being encouraged to complete RevivR – the BHF’s online tool which teaches vital CPR skills in just 15 minutes.
The retailer has also committed to registering all of its 77 defibrillators, one in each store and Central Support Office, on the national defibrillator network, which connects defibrillators to NHS ambulance services across the UK.
Paul Green, head of Dobbies’ people experience, said: “We are proud to be working with the British Heart Foundation on this important initiative, which we hope will help save lives.
“We want to enable all our team at the Hare Hatch store to learn CPR and to know how simple defibrillators are to use. We are committed to creating a safe environment for our customers and our team, and I am proud to celebrate this landmark moment for our stores.”
And Dr Charmaine Griffiths, chief executive of the British Heart Foundation, said a cardiac arrest can happen to anyone at any time.
“Knowing what to do in those vital moments could mean the difference between life and death. We want to thank Dobbies for their support and for working with us to make sure even more people have the skills they need to save a life,” she added.
To find out more about RevivR, visit: https://www.bhf.org.uk/how-you-can-help/how-to-save-a-life/how-to-do-cpr/learn-cpr-in-15-minutes
