Community Heartbeat Trust

I first saw the Community Heartbeat Trust logo when I was on holiday in Lynmouth. I had never seen a community defibrillator so took a picture of the bright yellow box as we had had discussions in our village about trying to have a defibrillator accessible in the village for some time.

When I got home the photo I had taken spurred me on to try to get one for our village so the first people I contacted were CHT. From the moment I first sent an email I had and still have an amazing service from them. I did look into gaining support from other organisations but none of them gave the intensive support and guidance that we needed. We had no clue about where to start and CHT helped us all the way. They gave us guidance on fundraising and once we had the money they not only sorted out the delivery of all that we needed but lent us a dummy one so we could show villagers what was coming and as part of the package gave us a brilliant training session where as many people from the village could attend.

One year on I am still gaining support from CHT and they are as responsive as ever. We could never have done what we did without the support, expert advice and practical problem solving that they gave us and we will never lose touch!

Blakesley & Woodend Villages

‘ I was so delighted to find the Community Heartbeat Trust . It is an absolutely fantastic resource in every imaginable regard for people looking to set up and run a public defibrillator in their community .  When I began to research the possibility of putting a PAD in our village telephone box it soon became apparent that choosing the best defibrillator & ensuring that  local people could obtain and use it quickly and effectively ( in a very short time window & in  in a rural area ) raised many  complex questions .

The Community Heartbeat Trust answered all such questions.   Drawing on an extraordinary  wealth of  knowledge & practical experience  to provide a complete care package in which they have thought through and ironed out every conceivable obstacle which might impede effective use of a defibrillator by lay people  in the real emergency situation .

They also represent  incredible value for money &  following their advice would ensure the very best governance for the care & upkeep of the defibrillator after installation in accordance with the current legal guidelines .’

Many thanks for our Cardiac Arrest Seminar held last night in Colscott.  We were not only really pleased with the attendance of our neighbours in our tiny hamlet, but Jon’s friendly delivery and no nonsense approach was really appreciated.  It certainly made clear and answered the basic queries many of us had and was very reassuring. 

It was also a very good opportunity for a small celebration and a few people had to be seen safely back to their garden gates after we finally finished! 

Thanks again for all the help and support from CHT in helping us make a great idea a reality!  

The team at Community Heartbeat Trust made the process of installing and maintaining the defibrillator at Great Waldingfield Village Hall very simple.  They are always available to answer any question that you may have.  Now purchasing another defibrillator from CHT.

The Gaddesby CPAD fundraising team was keen to provide the village with a CPAD scheme that was fit for purpose, easy to run with equipment was properly maintained and serviced for its whole lifetime.

After careful research and consideration, we chose to work with the CHT.

This was an excellent decision as they provided first class support, information and advice at every stage of the process and made it very easy.  They do not simply provide 'off-the-shelf' solutions.  They listen, consider the requirements of the particular project and devise the optimal solution.

We would recommend any community looking to install a CPAD to talk to the team at CHT.

Once Hawstead Parish Council had made the decision to install a defibrillator at the village hall, we spent some time researching defibrillators and defibrillator providers.  The Community Heartbeat Trust was by far and away the best we found.  They have been outstanding in respect of the advice and guidance they gave us and their on-going support is invaluable.

Martin J Render and the CHT have been extremely helpful and professional in dealing with getting us all the equipment we needed to set up our village's AED. Not only that, but the support given is to a really high standard, they are selfless people who are a phone call away and will do whatever they can to help you. Last night, 31st March 2016 we had our seminar and the way in which it was delivered was amazing, suiting everyone's ability and making everyone feel at ease when we might need to use the defibrillator. I would recommend Community Hearbeat Trust to anyone who wanted or needed to get a AED.

“There are lots of things to consider when installing a community defibrilator, and Community Heartbeat Trust (CHT) made the whole process of choosing, installing, managing and learning how to use the machine very easy.  The CHT team is incredibly knowledgeable and we’d like to say a huge thank you to Vickie who helped us set up the scheme and to Martin who delivered the training - both were endlessly patient and good humoured!  As a rural community we feel much happier knowing that we have a defibrillator on hand.”    

We had no idea where to start when a few members of our Woman’s Institute decided that we wanted to install a community defibrillator in our Somerset village.

At our monthly meeting the local fire brigade demonstrated CPR and the use of a Defib.  We were so impressed at the statistics of Defib life saving and the importance of CPR that we wanted to waste no time in raising CPR awareness and installation of a Defib.

Thank goodness for The Community Heartbeat Trust!  They handheld us through the mine field of the criteria that we required such as working with the Ambulance service, training awareness, legalities,  Defib cabinet and most importantly the Defib that would be the most appropriate for our community.

The after care ( and you will need it!) offered by CHT is so supportive.  A defibrillator requires regular checks and maintenance even if it hasn’t been used.  

One of our defibs  has already saved a life.  We now have three CHT defibs throughout our parish.  We are supported all the way from installation to aftercare and maintenance with CHT.

Because of CHT’s support our community is rescue ready.


 

I just wanted to let you know how overwhelmed and thankful I am for all your support over the last week in getting our defibrillator project off the ground.

We now have the means to get our K6 fit and ready for purpose, we have a donation website page and all the fundraising gear and of course all the information that you have all provided.

Once again a big thank you to you all and we will keep you posted on progress and renovation.

Kind regards

Sue