Housing provider’s Community Interest Company buys life-saving defibrillators for communities in Northampton

Northamptonshire Partnership Homes’ (NPH) Community Interest Company, Happy to Help, has purchased 9 defibrillators which will be available at community hubs across the town.

After a NPH resident had the idea to install defibrillators on community hubs, Happy to Help CIC’s team worked with East Midlands Ambulance Service to identify hubs in areas where units are not already accessible to the community. The new units will be installed in locked cabinets on the outside of the community hubs in the areas they identified and will be registered on The Circuit – the national register of defibrillators that can be accessed by 999 services. If needed, the access code will be shared by the 999 operator, allowing members of the community to use the units in an emergency.

As the units are designed to be use by members of the public as well as emergency service staff, they are easy to use with clear instructions. They can be used on adults and children, and if needed, should increase the chances of survival for people experiencing cardiac issues in the community.

The first of the units has now been installed on the Thorplands community hub in Farm Field Court and is ready for use if needed. More defibrillators will be installed on the following hubs in the next few months:

• Blackberry Lane – NN4 8QU

• Montague Crescent – NN5 7RG

• Eden Close – NN3 6NS

• Goldcrest Court – NN3 8XJ

• James Lewis Court – NN3 2TH

• Spring Boroughs – NN1 2SH

• Leicester Street – NN1 3RS

• Eastfield Close – NN5 6TJ

Cam Whyld, head of engagement at NPH and director of Happy to Help CIC, said: “We’re delighted to have been able to provide this potentially life-saving equipment to communities within Northampton. We have worked closely with East Midlands Ambulance Service to ensure we target areas in the town where defibrillators are most needed and not already accessible to the community. This is exactly the kind of project that Happy to Help CIC was set up for; to improve the health and wellbeing of our residents and their communities. We hope the defibrillators bring some reassurance to local residents that equipment is available should it be needed.”

Happy to Help CIC and EMAS are now working together to offer training to residents, so they will feel confident using the defibrillators in emergency situations.

Michael Barnett-Connolly, Head of Community Response at East Midlands Ambulance Service said: “Using a defibrillator on a person experiencing cardiac arrest as soon as possible gives the best chance of survival. East Midlands Ambulance Service actively encourage the placement of Public Access Defibrillators by organisations, businesses, and communities.

“The more readily available defibrillators are alongside people willing to act in an emergency will undoubtedly lead to improved survival rates for patients suffering out of hospital cardiac arrests.”

Off The Streets NN has also fitted a bleed kit and knife amnesty bin at the Thorplands community hub. The bleed kit aims to keep anyone who has been stabbed alive until emergency services arrive, and is available at the hub thanks to the hard work of Sarah Hayman, Thorplands Residents Association chair, who worked with Off The Streets NN and NPH to have the potentially life-saving equipment installed.

NPH set up Happy to Help CIC to meet needs in the community that they otherwise would not have been able to fund. It relies on grant funding, corporate social responsibility payments and donations to provide items like these defibrillators, and white goods, furniture, essential items, and food to those in need.

It also runs subsidised handyperson and gardening services for residents and supports the local community through The Paint Shop in Kings Heath and its Communities Fund. Happy to Help CIC would love to hear from any local businesses who would like to support its work and help to reach more people in need. Those interested can contact [email protected].