Croydon primary school receives potentially life-saving donation
Staff scare leads to Academy reaching out to Carly Heart Trust
In frightening instance of a cardiac arrest, every second counts. A primary school in Croydon received a generous donation on 16th October that will benefit the wider local community.
The Carly Heart Trust charity has provided Oasis Academy Ryelands with a defibrillator, thanks to a generous donation from one of their sponsors, Purelake property developers. The presentation of the new equipment was made on 16th October, the British Heart Foundation’s Restart a Heart Day 2018.
Last year a staff member at the academy collapsed after suffering from a cardiac arrest. Colleagues rushed to the South Norwood swimming pool to obtain their defibrillator whilst an ambulance rushed to the school. Thankfully, the staff member made a full recovery, but it was a reminder of how each moment is vital during a medical emergency.
The incident led Principal Glenn Lillo to approach the Carly Heart Trust for help in purchasing the Academy’s own defibrillator.
Established following trustee Carly Williams’ own serious medical emergency during her sister’s wedding, the Carly Heart Trust exists to support schools to have defibrillators. Statistics are currently very stark – 270 children die every year at school from sudden cardiac arrest. Combined with trained CPR, using a defibrillator within 3-5 minutes of a cardiac arrest increases survival rates from 6% to 74%.
Trustee of the Carly Heart Trust, Carly Williams, and Managing Director of Purelake, Barry White, gave pupils and staff of Oasis Academy Ryelands a brand new defibrillator at a special presentation at the Academy.
Trustee of Carly Heart Trust, Carly Williams, commented, “We are pleased to be able to provide the children, staff and local community around Oasis Academy Ryelands with a defibrillator this morning. As I know from personal experience, life hangs in the balance during the frightening experience of a cardiac arrest.”
“Fortunately for me I was surrounded by family members who had received training in how to use a defibrillator, who saved my life. The Carly Heart Trust exists to provide defibrillators are training to ensure more people return home after suffering a heart attack. We were delighted to present this gift to the children today.”
Barry White, Managing Director of Purelake, says, “On behalf of Purelake, I am pleased to donate a defibrillator to the pupils and community of Oasis Academy Ryelands. While we hope it is never necessary to use it, we hope this equipment will raise awareness of what to do in a cardiac arrest and potentially save someone’s life if required.”
Oasis Academy Ryeland’s Principal, Glenn Lillo, added, “We are extremely grateful to the Carly Heart Trust and to Purelake for this extremely kind donation.”
“We have had a couple of medical emergencies at the Academy where a defibrillator could have potentially made the difference while the ambulance was on the way, and now we have the peace of mind that we have this resource not just for our pupils and staff but our local community.”
“Thank you too to Carly, Barry, and the Carly Heart Trust team for coming to meet with our pupils who learned about what to do in an emergency.”
Oasis Academy Ryelands is an inclusive academy for children aged between 3 and 11 committing to delivering first class-education and playing an active role in the local community. http://www.oasisacademyryelands.org/
British Heart Foundation’s Restart a Heart Day 2018 was 16th October, https://www.bhf.org.uk/how-you-can-help/restart-a-heart.
