Life-saving defibrillator at the heart of Kirkholt

Fida Hussain with Councillor Meredith and the new defibrillator at Kirkholt

Defibrillators are becoming increasingly common in towns, community buildings and offices, and now there is a new defibrillator available at the heart of Kirkholt.

A defibrillator is small device that gives an electric shock to the heart of someone who is in cardiac arrest. Having this equipment can play an essential part in saving the life of someone who is in cardiac arrest.

A unit has now been installed at the new Strand hub, after local ward Councillor Daniel Meredith secured funding from Rochdale Council.

The Strand Community Hub opened late last year, as a joint project between Rochdale Council and RBH. RBH Community Partnership Co-coordinator Fida Hussain supported the new defibrillator at the hub, and with the equipment installed outside the building it is now available for use 24 hours a day.

Fida explained how the equipment is used: “If you suspect someone is having a heart attack you call 999 and they give you the location of the nearest defib; in this case at The Strand. You are given a pin number to open the cabinet and remove the hand-held defibrillator. You turn it on and follow the simple step-by-step instructions.”

Fida and his team will be running training courses for local people to gets hands on experience over the next several months.