Acklam Green Centre launches public access defibrillator

Acklam Green Centre hosted an event for the local community, as part of the rollout of Middlesbrough Council’s public access defibrillator network. 

The business and community centre invited people along to a special launch event in the centre on Friday 5th January to introduce them to their local defibrillator, which is located on the exterior of the building. The event included mini demonstrations from the North-East Ambulance Service (NEAS) and there was also an opportunity for members of the community to sign-up for free training with more in-depth knowledge of CPR and using a defibrillator.

Acklam Green Centre took the opportunity to extend the event by inviting a number of local organisations to give out advice and information to help people start 2018 on a healthy and positive note. Organisations who attended included; Actes a charitable company which delivers a wide range of services to help people improve their lives, Age UK Teesside, Middlesbrough and Stockton Mind, Ageing Better Middlesbrough, Healthwatch, Middlesbrough Environment City and Everyone Active, who ran taster sessions of New Age Bowls and Frisbee Golf to promote physical exercise for all. 

In addition, a nurse and Health Care Advisor carried out a number of Healthy Heart Checks for those aged 40-74 and mini-health checks for people aged 25-39.

Donna Smith, facilities manager at Acklam Green Centre, said: “We are delighted that Acklam Green Centre was chosen by Middlesbrough Council to be fitted with a public access defibrillator as part of the rollout of the borough-wide public-access defibrillator network.

“This is an important device that can help save lives, so we were pleased to host the event alongside Middlesbrough Council and North East Ambulance Service to introduce the facility to members of the public within a 500 metre radius of the centre.”

Cllr Julia Rostron, Middlesbrough Council’s Executive Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health, said: “Clearly it is stating the obvious but defibrillators save lives and therefore having a network of them across our communities in Middlesbrough, accessible to all, is a very positive thing to do.

“We are delighted to launch the latest of these at the Acklam Green Centre and the more people who are aware they are there and the more people are trained to use them, the more lives will be saved.”

For further information about training on CPR and using a defibrillator contact firstresponder@neas.co.uk. For further information about the Acklam Green Centre visit www.acklam-green-centre.com