EVERY school should have a heart start machine by 2020 and Ludlow MP Philip Dunne is backing a campaign to bring this about quickly.

Philip Dunne is backing a campaign by The Oliver King Foundation, to help every school to have a defibrillator by 2020.

The Oliver King Foundation was set up in 2012 following the death of 12-year-old Oliver. He died from a sudden cardiac arrest whilst at school. If a defibrillator had been available on that day, it could have saved Oliver’s life.

Every single year in the UK 600 young people die from Sudden Cardiac Arrest. It is estimated that 270 of these deaths occur in schools.

Recently a study from Denmark has found that children and young adults with diabetes have seven times the risk of sudden cardiac death, than young people without diabetes. Only one in every 10 who suffer a cardiac arrest survives.

Early access to a defibrillator is vital. For every minute that passes following a cardiac arrest, chances of survival drop by 10 per cent. Studies have shown that access to a defibrillator can increase survival rates by a massive 75 per cent.

“I am proud to become a lifesaving Defibrillator Champion for south Shropshire,” said Philip Dunne.

“Lifesaving equipment, particularly in rural areas like ours, can make a real difference in increasing survival rates. I will be working to get more defibrillators in our area, protecting school children, teachers, and the wider public. We can also do more to provide further access to defibrillators outside of school settings, and I am pleased the League of Friends of Ludlow Community Hospital recently purchased seven defibrillators for use in the community.”

“For the last six years, I’ve driven across the country delivering 2,000 defibrillators,” said Mark King, Oliver’s father.

“The Foundation has provided first aid training to over 22,000 people. I miss my son every day, I’m determined that no other family has to suffer the same loss. I won’t rest until every school has access to a defibrillator by the time, Oliver would have been 21, in 2020.”