Barratt Homes has recently helped fund a defibrillator unit at Fairfields in Milton Keynes following a request from a community partnership.
Local football coaching company We Make Footballers Milton Keynes, who were already working with Fairfields Primary School and Fairfields Parish Council on the project, approached the housebuilder to see if it would be willing to assist with the installation of a defibrillator at the school.
The Parish Council is paying £2 a day for five years for the rental of the unit, while Barratt Homes paid for the deposit. Fairfields Primary School is paying for the ongoing electricity and We Make Footballers funded the electric installation.
It is important that every community has quick access to a defibrillator in case of an emergency, with at least 12 young people between the ages of 12 to 35 years passing from undiagnosed cardiac conditions in the United Kingdom every week.
Russell Lew, academy director at We Make Footballers, said:
“I am extremely proud to be part of this fantastic project, providing potentially lifesaving equipment to the children in our care, the staff and pupils of Fairfields Primary School and the local community.”
Kelly Cursley, head of school at Fairfields Primary School, said:
“We are delighted to have this defibrillator on our school premises. This will support all members of our school as well as the local Fairfields community. A huge thank you to Barratt Homes, Fairfields Parish Council and We Make Footballers.”
Ian Hunt, chairman of Fairfields Parish Council, said:
“This has been a very important project to us, and we are pleased to see it come to fruition.”
The defibrillator has been registered by the Parish Council on the National Defibrillator Database for UK ambulance services hosted by British Heart Foundation, as well as on the local site for South Central Ambulance Service.
The unit has pads for adult and child patients and has fully vocal instruction so that it can be used by anyone on anyone should the need arise.
The defibrillator can be accessed in two ways. If someone is not on the development when they have an emergency, they can use the “Save a Life” app on their mobile phone, which will guide them to the nearest defibrillator position and this unit is registered on that site.
If someone is in Fairfields when calling an ambulance for a suspected heart attack, the emergency service will provide the code to open the box using the keypad so that valuable time can be saved.
Fairfields Primary School is located on Barratt Homes’ Fairfields development on Apollo Avenue.
Amer Alkhalil, managing director at Barratt Homes Northampton, said:
“We are so pleased to be able to assist in this life-saving equipment at the development. We must be responsible in providing equipment to keep all residents, pupils and football players safe.”
For more information about the development, please visit the website at Fairfields. For sales enquiries or to book an appointment, please call 033 3355 8481.