A defibrillator purchased through Craig’s Heartstrong Foundation for use by the community of Spring Valley Industrial Estate was officially unveiled last week.

The defibrillator, purchased by Isle of Man Post Office was presented to Paul Healey and Paula Lunt, from the Foundation, and Dave Scambler from the Isle of Man Ambulance Service, at its Postal Headquarters.

The equipment is housed in a locked cabinet on the outside wall of the Post Office’s customer services suite and emergency services will be able to inform individuals of its whereabouts and the code to access in an emergency situation. The defibrillator can provide lifesaving treatment to an individual in the event of an ambulance being unable to get to the scene quickly.

Craig’s Heartstrong Foundation is an established Manx Charity which was originally set up by the Lunt family in memory of their 25 year old son, Craig, a popular young Manx footballer who tragically died in April 2005 from an undiagnosed heart defect. The focus of the Charity’s work is to raise funds to enable heart screenings for men and women aged between 14 and 35 in the Isle of Man in order to detect possible symptoms of Hypertrophic and Dilated Cardiomyopathy, therefore helping to prevent Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS). The Foundation also provides lifesaving defibrillator machines at schools, sports clubs and in businesses as well as those that are publically accessible.

Paul Healey, Craig’s Heartstrong Foundation Chairman, said: “Our public defib campaign is really pushing on well and we are delighted to have another of these machines in a very populated area.”

John Higginbotham, Mails Operations Manager for Isle of Man Post Office said: “We are delighted to be able to support such a worthy cause and provide this life saving equipment which can easily be accessed by the local community in a time of need.”

The next FREE heart screenings are now available to book online for 30 September and 01 October 2017 at www.craigsheartstrongfoundation.co.uk.  

Photo - (left to right) of John Higginbotham with Dave Scambler from the Ambulance Service, Paula Lunt and Paul Healey from the Foundation, at Postal Headquarters alongside the new defibrillator.