Police funding provides new defibrillator for Southwater

An application for a grant was made by Southwater Community First Responders (CFR), which is a team of volunteers who provide emergency medical support to the community.

The cheque was presented on Friday, March 18 at Southwater Community Police Office with special guests – Police Community Support Officer Damian Cecil, Southwater CFR trustees Pauline Flores-Moore and Horsham District Council member for Southwater North councillor Claire Vickers, trustees Tony Bull and Rob Warde.

The donation was made possible by the Police Property Act Fund, a pot of money made up from the sale of found property and from property confiscated by order of the court and then sold.

CFR is trained to respond in conjunction with South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb) and it provides immediate care to those who have fallen ill.

In addition, the team maintain a network of public access defibrillators across the parish and provide cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and PAD training.

Southwater Community First Responders is a registered charity and largely relies on self-funding.

Pauline, who applied for the grant, said: “The money will be used to fund further public access defibrillators in the parish. At present we have 13 and are actively looking for additional locations.”

PCSO Cecil said: “We are delighted to support a charity which provides a vital service. I am sure the donation from the Police Property Act Fund will be of benefit everyone in the local community.”

The group are still deciding the best place to place the newest defibrillator.

The group said that for every minute that someone is in cardiac arrest without receiving CPR and having a defibrillator used on them, their chance of survival decreases by 10 per cent. A defibrillator gives a jolt of energy to the heart, which can help restore the heart’s rhythm, and get it beating normally again. The device is easy to use and does not require training, but it could make the difference between life and death.

More information about the Police Property Act Fund can be found at www.sussex.police.uk/police-forces/sussex-police/areas/au/about-us/charity-and-community/police-property-act-fund-ppaf

For more information or to find out how you can support the CFR organisation, visit www.southwaterresponders.org

The website includes a map of all the public access defibrators in the parish, of which there are now 13.

They can be found at the Hen and Chicken pub, Southwater Village Hall, The Ghyll, Southwater Country Park cafe, Southwater sports club, Roundstone caravans, Beesons House, Rayland Park, Salisbury Road, Oakhurst Business Park and the Co-op in Lintot Square.

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