Nearly 70% of cardiac arrests happen within 500 meters of a school and there is a requirement for all state schools to have access to a Defibrillator, but what happens when the school is closed and access to the defibrillator becomes limited?
Paramedic, Alice Jones alongside charity OurJay Foundation made it their mission to place a brand-new Defibrillator in Walsall at Walsall Academy on Thursday (7th December) on the outside of the school making the Defibrillator accessible all year round, day and night.
OurJay Foundation was set up in memory of Jamie Rees an 18 year-old who sadly passed away after a cardiac arrest in the early hours of New Year’s Day 2022 and while Jamie’s friends knew a Defibrillator was close by in a school, they were unable to access it, given the time of day it happened.
This inspired Jamie’s Mum, Stepdad and brother to set up the foundation to raise awareness of accessible defibrillators and effective CPR. Since the charity has been set up, the defibrillators installed across the country have saved five lives, one of which was a 2 year-old child, where the defibrillator had only been installed the previous week.
Willenhall Paramedic, Alice Jones was inspired by Jamie’s story and decided to take action by using her free time teach CPR and how to use a Defibrillator to school children. As well as encouraging schools to keep Defibrillators on the outside of the school to make them easily accessible for members of the public.
Alice visited Walsall Academy, where she formerly attended as a student and has proudly added another defibrillator outside the school, in addition to the two the school already has and hopes other schools will follow suit soon.
Jamie’s story has inspired me; everyone needs to know how to perform CPR and use a defibrillator, they quite literally save lives.
The defibrillators that are accessible to the public requires no training to be used, they tell you what to do and there’s absolutely nothing to be afraid of. In an emergency, just having a go and trying your best can make a lifesaving difference.
Alice Jones, Paramedic