The chair of the South Central Ambulance Trust, Prof Sir Keith Willett, was welcomed to mark the installation of a defibrillator at the Pakistani Community Centre in east Reading.
Sir Keith said “Only one person in ten survives a cardiac arrest outside of hospital, so the provision of locally available defibrillators in the community can provide a vital life-saving asset. The example of the PCC working with SCAS Governor Tony Jones in procuring the AED (automated external defibrillator) to is to be commended and I hope others will follow this example.”
Amjad Tarir, a PCC trustee said “When Tony approached us with the idea of installing a defibrillator at the centre we were only too pleased to support this initiative. It is now be available not only visitors to the centre but also users at Palmer Park playing fields and the wider east Reading area.”
Tony Jones, SCAS governor added “It is great that the AED is now available in east Reading. Anyone seeking to help someone suspected of suffering a cardiac arrest should of course dial 999 first, so that professional help can be on its way, as well as undertaking CPR first aid (cardiopulmonary resuscitation). The location of your nearest AED can be found at https://www.defibfinder.uk and hopefully we can see more added to those available in Reading in the future.”
(In the photo, left to right: Tony Jones – SCAS governor, Miah Saleem PCC Co-Chair, Prof Sir Keith Willett – Chair, SCAS and Amjad Tarar – PCC Trustee.)