Another defibrillator installed in Kenilworth thanks to kind donation by church

Another defibrillator has been installed in Kenilworth thanks to a kind donation by the team at one of the town's churches

In December 2019 the team at St Nicholas Church decided to dedicate the proceeds of their annual Christmas Tree Festival to provide an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) for the community in the High Street area.

The AED was installed at the Parochial Hall earlier this week and will serve a wide coverage of north Kenilworth.

The idea sprang from a partnership with Kenilworth HeartSafe (KHS) which started originally at St Nicholas Church a little while ago; and has subsequently increased the number of AEDs available to the community from four to the current number of 17 over the past 18 months.

KHS also provide free training sessions for the public in CPR and use of AEDs at the Abbey Medical Centre.

Unfortunately these are temporarily suspended due to social distancing.

Heather Alford and Sue Draper led a team of volunteers to organise the Tree Festival and with the support of the Vicar, Reverend Stella Bailey, and the Church council, presented almost £1,400 to fund the AED at the beginning of this year with a small balance being funded from monies raised by KHS.

Unfortunately due to the pandemic there were delays in negotiations with planners in the historic conservation area, procurement and subsequent installation.

Neil Morris, treasurer and trustee for Kenilworth HeartSafe led this project . He said: “We are absolutely delighted to complete this installation.

"It is another step forward in achieving town-wide coverage of this vital life-saving equipment.”