THE community of North Petherwin is helping contribute to a fund to install a public access defibrillator at the nearby Countryman Inn.

Two defibrillators will soon be installed in the community, one in the BT phone box at the centre of North Petherwin, which is in the ownership of the parish council, and another at a location in the parish yet to be decided. This is in part thanks to Pat Orridge, whose husband sadly died at Easter of a heart attack.

Although Pat said a defibrillator would not have helped her husband Mick, his death made her aware that there were no public access defibrillators nearby. After Mick’s death, staff at the Countryman Inn also decided to start fundraising in the hopes of having a defibrillator located at the pub.

Pat said: “My husband wasn’t unwell. He was a happy 61. He didn’t smoke or drink. It took 12 minutes for the ambulance service to get to me but even if we had a defibrillator it wouldn’t have made any difference.

“The ambulance service were absolutely brilliant, there were three crews and the guys were really good, but it was just a massive heart attack.”

North Petherwyn WI’s president, Toni Martin, began fundraising for a parish defibrillator over a year ago and successfully applied for a grant for a defibrillator from the North Petherwin Community Fund, managed by Cornwall Community Foundation.

This application not only covered paying for a defibrillator with a 10-year warranty, but also for the maintenance and insurance for the 10-year period under a managed solution. A breakfast club event was hosted last year by the NPWI to secure further funds. It transpired that there were enough funds to partially fund another defibrillator, and due to the road layout in the parish, it was decided that a second defibrillator would be beneficial.

Pat had heard about the WI’s efforts to purchase two defibrillators, and handed over the donations following Mick’s funeral. Pat’s son-in-law then secured fund matching from the National Grid, and with that there are now enough funds for the two defibrillators.

The first has been ordered — hoped to be installed by the end of November — and the charity that provides the defibrillators will hold an initial training session. After that, Toni, who is a first aid instructor and has first responder training, has offered her time to run follow-on sessions for local residents — she is intending to include CPR training as well as defibrillator familiarisation.

Although the defibrillators that will be installed in North Petherwin parish will tell people what to do, and show a video of how to do it in the event of an emergency, Toni said: “I do think it’s important that people have training in CPR and how to use a defibrillator to refresh their knowledge and build their confidence.”

Pat added: “We hope to God nobody needs [the defibrillators]. If I won the lottery, I would probably buy one for every village. Survival and chances of a good recovery are so much higher if you reach someone quickly.”

Pat organised a recent successful fun dog show to raise funds towards getting a defibrillator for the Countryman Inn, and local residents joined friends and neighbours for a walk/ride/cycle on Saturday, September 30, raising £440. They did the two-and-a-half mile or five mile loop, finishing with a lunch at the village hall.

Thirty-five took part with four horses and a few on bikes, other kind villagers donated even though they were unable to take part..

The defibrillator fund will receive £240 from the walk, although the pub will have to raise considerably more funds before there is enough to purchase a public access defibrillator. People who wish to donate can do so at the pub, where there is a charity box for cash, or by contacting them.

The village youth club will also benefit from the other £200 as everyone taking part felt something should be given back to the local community as they have been the main supporters.

Pat said: “It is a good example of how our great local community come together and really enjoy the social aspect as well as supporting good causes. A great time was had in the hall enjoying lunch and Rosemary Neal kindly paid all the expenses for the food!

“The parish council have purchased the North Petherwin phone kiosk from BT and the village will soon have a defibrillator installed and be trained to use it. We all felt that an additional one at the pub along with one more locally would give us great coverage should one been needed and therefore are working hard to help the pub raise the money.

“It’s rather ironic that Mick worked for BT — or the GPO as it was then — and although in a senior role before his retirement, now the defibrillator is going to be located in the kiosk, it did make us all smile!”

Pat expressed her thanks to Webbers estate agents, who organised a ‘guess the value of the house’ competition at the dog show, all money to the pub defibrillator fund and also donated prizes for the winners, as well as printed off and laminated promotional posters. They have kindly offered to continue to support the fundraising.