A DEFIBRILLATOR is now in place in the BT phone box at North Petherwin.

It is hoped another defibrillator will be installed soon in the parish — location yet to be decided — and fundraising is underway to secure a third for the nearby Countryman Inn.

The provision of the life-saving equipment has partly been enabled by village resident, Pat Orridge, whose husband, Mick, sadly died last Easter of a heart attack. Mick, 61, was not unwell, and did not smoke or drink.

Although Pat said a defibrillator would not have helped her husband, his death made her aware that at that time, there were no public access defibrillators nearby.

North Petherwin WI’s president, Toni Martin, had started fundraising for a parish defibrillator in 2016 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 ten-year warranty, but also for the maintenance and insurance for the ten-year period under a managed solution. A breakfast club event was hosted in 2016 by the North Petherwin WI 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, which secured enough funds for the two defibrillators.

Since then, Pat has helped the Countryman Inn’s defibrillator fundraising efforts, which included organising a fun dog show, and a walk/ride/cycle, with some of the money raised from that also given to the local youth club.

People who wish to donate to this fund can do so at the pub, where there is a charity box for cash, or by contacting them.

At North Petherwin, awareness and CPR sessions have already been held for villagers, with more planned — the next due to be held on February 26.

Fourteen people went to the latest session on February 6. Fifty-five people have attended in total now. There are more sessions advertised in and around the village with contact details for people from North Petherwin Parish.

These sessions have been run by Toni, to refresh people’s CPR skills and show them how to use a defibrillator.

The village hall has been used for all of the training and Pat and Toni are grateful to the committee for providing free use. There will be a familiarisation evening on April 11 from 7pm to 9pm in the church in North Petherwin, run by the The Community Heartbeat Trust — the charity that the defibrillator was purchased through.

Pat, who has been present at all of the sessions so far, explained why they are valuable: “You have to do something if you are in this situation, anything is better than nothing. My daughter Clare and I cannot think of anything worse, than knowing her dad is not with us because we did nothing. It is a huge comfort that we know we gave him the best chance possible with effective CPR.”

On the newly installed defibrillator, Pat added: “I am pleased it is all now ‘rescue ready’ and having a group of neighbours — in the main dog walkers — who are wardens and will check it regularly and weekly log in to report its status is great.

“People who have attended [the CPR and defibrillator sessions] tell us they feel capable of giving effective CPR if the situation arose. We have had a huge age range of people from ten into their 70s. Obviously, my involvement in the defibrillator being in the kiosk is still tinged with a great deal of sadness at losing my husband Mick, but I am sure he would be proud of my efforts and immensely grateful to everyone involved in achieving this and their support to me in this venture as well on a more personal level.”

Thanks were expressed to Sarah and Glen from CORMAC Solutions for their assistance in arranging the removal of the overgrown shrubs and weeds on the verge immediately adjacent to the phone kiosk. They prevented the kiosk and defibrillator signs from being seen and it now also gives volunteers the ability to continue with maintenance of it.