Rushcliffe: Sixteen sports venues now have public defibrillators

Sixteen sports venues across Rushcliffe have now been supported as part of a Rushcliffe Borough Council (RBC) project that is raising awareness, providing training and improving access to life-saving defibrillators.

The Safe Hearts in Sport initiative, supported by Shared Prosperity Funding from the UK Government is equipping venues, sports clubs and their coaches and volunteers, with the tools and resources to ensure if anyone is faced with a cardiac emergency, they are prepared and know what to do.

Through the project, RBC is working with partners to provide new defibrillators at sites that don’t currently have one, outdoor cabinets to make existing defibrillators more accessible and other equipment such as new batteries, paediatric pads and prep kits.

New signage with clear instructions on where a defibrillator is located will also be installed at these venues to ensure it is visible to all visitors.

The sporting venues that have benefitted from the initiative include:

Alford Road Football Pavilion, West Bridgford
Cotgrave Welfare Club, Cotgrave
Edwalton Golf Centre, Edwalton
Keyworth Parish Council, Keyworth
Keyworth Rugby Club, Widmerpool
Musters Tennis Club, West Bridgford
Orston Recreation Ground, Orston
Plumtree Cricket Club, Plumtree
Rushcliffe Arena, West Bridgford
St James Park Bowls Club, Upper Saxondale
Toot Hill Sports Centre, Bingham
The Nottinghamshire Golf Club – Stragglethorpe
Thrumpton Cricket Club, Thrumpton
West Park, West Bridgford
Whatton and Aslockton Playing Fields, Aslockton
Willoughby on the Wolds Bowls Club, Willoughby

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and defibrillator training has also been delivered to over 60 venue staff, sports club coaches and volunteers across the Borough with further plans to run additional training sessions later in the year.

The venues are registering with the national defibrillator network The Circuit, which provides NHS ambulance services with vital information about defibrillators across the UK.

Having your defibrillator registered can be the difference in those crucial moments after a cardiac arrest so they can be accessed quickly to help save lives.

It’s vital that anyone who owns or looks after a defibrillator should register the device with the network at https://www.thecircuit.uk.

Rushcliffe Borough Council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Business and Growth Cllr Abby Brennan said: “Through our UKSPF allocation we’re pleased to support this Safe Hearts in Sport initiative, an incredibly vital project for the Borough, enhancing the safety of our residents and the many people who play sport.

“In recent years there have been several local incidences of sudden cardiac arrest affecting the sporting community. Raising awareness and equipping our sporting venues with accessible defibrillators could save a life if someone has a cardiac arrest.”

Rushcliffe Borough Council’s Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Wellbeing, ICT and Member Development Cllr Jonathan Wheeler added: “We’re working with partners on this important initiative to help put more accessible defibrillators in place across the Borough which can help to increase survival rates from cardiac arrests.

“Registering the devices on The Circuit is also an essential part of this project as we know there are thousands of unregistered defibrillators nationwide which means ambulance services are not aware of their location.

“If you are a business, community group, sports club or local service in Rushcliffe that owns or looks after a defibrillator, please register it on The Circuit today as it could help save someone’s life.”