Central England Co-operative installs lifesaving Defibrillators in Birmingham and the West Midlands
Posted by nathan lloyd | Published: 23/02/2017
Thirty-five lifesaving pieces of equipment have now been placed in the heart of the community in Birmingham and the West Midlands thanks to Central England Co-operative.
The Society has installed 35 defibrillators across the area as part of a scheme that will see hundreds of the lifesaving devices put in place at outlets across the Society’s trading area.
It is estimated that around 100,000 people die from Sudden Cardiac Arrest in the UK each year and, while CPR saves the lives of around nine per cent, if CPR is used alongside a defibrillator the chance of survival increases to 50 %.
Jim Cunningham, Store Manager at Stirchley Food Store, said: "We are delighted to have been such an integral part of ensuring this lifesaving device has been installed at our store.
"If the defibrillator is ever needed, anyone can call 999 and the emergency operator will pass on a code that will open the locked case that the equipment is stored in.
"The device will then talk the person through how to use it – it is easy to use and any member of the community would be able to do so if needed."
As a community retailer, Central England Co-operative already has defibrillators sited at a number of its outlets, but announced further funding for the phased installation of hundreds of defibrillators over the next year, which will be installed by long-term partner Oak Electrical.
The business is working with ambulance services to identify the most suitable sites for equipment and, where possible, these will be in external locations allowing community use in an emergency at any time of day or night.
Martyn Cheatle, Central England Co-operative Chief Executive, said: “Sudden Cardiac Arrest is one of the UK’s biggest killers and, after listening to the concerns of customers, members and partners, we want to help tackle the issue by getting more life-saving equipment into communities where it can save lives.
“As a responsible business we place a huge focus on making a positive contribution to the communities in which we trade; we are delighted to be able to build on our existing work with this new project which we are funding from the carrier bag levy.”
Every installation will include familiarisation sessions available to staff at Society outlets, nearby business, local residents and community groups. Please speak to colleagues in-store to find out more details about the events.
Aaron Clements, from equipment supply firm Kays Medical, said: “We are not only excited to be a part of this project alongside Central England Co-operative, but we’re also extremely proud to be a part of such a community focused roll out.
“It is a pleasure to enter this partnership with Central England Co-operative and continue our long relationship in which our medical expertise and industry experience has led us to come together to offer this lifesaving provision to the community across Birmingham and the West Midlands.”
Notes to editors
Picture: The newly installed defibrillator now in place at our stores across Birmingham and the West Midlands.
The devices have been installed in the following locations:
• N Wheatley and Sons Funeral Services, Queen’s House, Moseley
• Moseley Food Store, Swanshurst Lane
• Yardley Food Store, Yew Tree Retail Park
• Nechells Co-operative funeralcare, Great Brook Street
• Ward End Co-operative funeralcare, Fox and Goose Shopping Centre
• Harborne Co-operative funeralcare, High Street
• Weoley Castle Co-operative funeralcare, Weoley Castle Road
• Harborne Road Food, Court Oak Road
• Quinton Food Store, Birmingham
• Rubery Co-operative Funeralcare, New Road
• Ambler Brothers Funeral Services, Alcester Road, Moseley
• Dads Lane Food Store, Dads Lane, Birmingham
• Monkspath Food Store, Shelly Shopping Centre, Shirley
• Bentley Heath Food Store, Widney Road
• Stirchley Food Store, Hazelwell Street
• Cotteridge Food Store, Pershore Road, King’s Norton
• West Heath Food Store, Alvechurch Road
• Northfield Food Store, West Heath Road
• Church Road Food Store, Church Road, Sheldon
• Shard End Food Store, Shard End Crescent
• Kinghurst Food Store, The Parade
• Chester Road Food store, Chelmsley Wood
• Rowley Regis Food Store, Oldbury Road
• Tividale Food Store, Regent Road, Oldbury
• Overfield Road Food Store, Dudley
• Dibdale Road Food Store, Dudley
• Erdington Food Store, High Street
• Chester Road Co-operative funeralcare, Erdington
• Stephanie Mason Funeral Services, Enterprise House, Minworth
• Spies Lane Food Store, Halesowen
• Brandhall Food Store, Tame Road
• Oldbury Co-operative funeralcare, Birmingham Street
• West Bromwich Food Store, Hill Top
• West Bromwich Co-operative funeralcare, High Street
• Marsh Hill Co-operative funeralcare, Erdington
• Walsall Road Food Store, Great Barr
• Kingstanding Florist, Hawthorn Road
• Dyas Road Food Store, Great Barr
About Central England Co-operative
Central England Co-operative is one of the largest independent retail co-operative societies in the UK. It is a modern, forward-looking organisation employing over 8,000 staff, with projected gross sales of £958million for 2016/17. The Society recently celebrated being named Leading Co-operative of the Year 2016 by Co-operatives UK. The Society’s principal areas of activity are food, funeral services, and property. Central England Co-operative has more than 430 trading outlets across 16 counties including; West Midlands, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire. The Society has an ambitious food store development programme for 2015/16.
Central England Co-operative is proud of its reputation for ethical business practices and corporate responsibility. It is a member of Business in the Community, the membership organisation that stands for responsible business, and has also won many business awards for excellence. The Society supports a number of charities including Newlife Foundation for Disabled Children and invests a percentage of its trading profit into local communities.
For more information visit www.centralengland.coop, follow Central England Co-operative on Twitter: @mycoopfood, and on Facebook: facebook.com/centralenglandcooperative
Rob Smyth / Heather Clapton at Central England Co-operative on 01543 414140
Email –publicrelations@centralengland.coop