Crowdfunding for a 24/7 Defibrillator.

Funds are being raised for a public access defibrillator in Horfield to be placed in a specially mounted locked cabinet outside Ebenezer Church (on Filton Avenue). The defibrillator will be made available to members of the public 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year. Access code will be given by a 999 operator in the event of an emergency.

British Heart Foundation statistics confirm almost 30,000 out-of-hospital suspected cardiac arrest cases in the UK each year, but fewer than one in ten people survive. Simon Gillespie, Chief Executive of the British Heart Foundation has said: “A 999 call, followed by immediate CPR and defibrillation are vital in saving the life of someone having a cardiac arrest. Making defibrillators more readily available increases the likelihood of this chain being followed, giving people the best chance of survival.”

Ebenezer Church has an open access frontage all year round, the church have kindly given permission for installation of a heated locked defibrillator cabinet on their premises. Cost of the heating and lighting of cabinet area will be taken up by Ebenezer Church.

Stewart North (one of the church leaders at Ebenezer Church) said: “Having access to defibrillators can save lives. In North Bristol, the nearest ones currently are at Southmead Hospital, UWE and Parkway Station. We believe that it would be great to have one centrally based for Horfield and Lockleaze. By crowdfunding the core costs, this gives our local community ownership of this lifesaving device."

The funds raised will go towards purchasing a state-of-the-art portable defibrillator, external heated cabinet and a service agreement giving eight years supply of new pads, battery replacement and installation. Simply go to the website to support this crowdfunding appeal online - https://tinyurl.com/communitydefib or contact Ebenezer Church office on 0117 9791399 if you wish to donate offline.