Launch of new defibrillator at Rickmansworth High Street

New life saving equipment is now on hand at the CAB Offices in Northway, just off the High Street, thanks to a donation from the Rotary International Foundation.

To celebrate the centenary of the Rotary International Foundation, with the support of the Community Heartbeat Trust (CHT), the foundation is working to supply and install 15 high specification Community Public Access Defibrillators (cPADs) in Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire.

The application for the defibrillator at the CAB office was put forward by the Rickmansworth Rotary Club.

The defibrillator was unveiled at the CAB Office on 22 June  attended by Chalmers Cursley, District Governor, representatives of Rotary International in Beds, Bucks and Herts and Denise Wellham of the Rotary Club of Rickmansworth, with Cllr Diane Barber Leader of Three Rivers District Council.

A defibrillator is a device used to give a high-energy electric shock to the heart through the chest wall when a person is in cardiac arrest. The defibrillator is logged on the ambulance dispatch system and someone dialling 999 for someone in cardiac arrest will be given the code to open the cabinet to access the defibrillator.

Cllr Barber (recipient) said: “Cardiac arrest remains a major killer and public access defibrillators within local communities enable early access to defibrillation and make a valuable contribution to saving lives. The CAB Offices is close to the hub of the local community – Library, Watersmeet Theatre shops and local churches, so it will be important that there’s a defibrillator there, for the use of all residents using the town. “On behalf of Three Rivers District Council, I’d like to thank the Rotary International Foundation and the Rotary Club of Rickmansworth for their kind donation.”

Paul Denton, Leader of Rotary International Foundation Project, said: “Our defibrillator project is an example for the Rotary Foundation working to enhance communities in our own Rotary District. The site was agreed with the Hertfordshire Ambulance Service who worked with Rotary on this project.”