WIRRAL Council has been honoured for recognising the importance of defibrillators after staff at one local school saved the life of a caretaker who had a heart attack.

The local authority was honoured with a Gold Accreditation at the recent CardiacSmart Awards, held at Bolton Wanderers' Macron Stadium last month, while Hoylake Holy Trinity CE primary school was recognised after staff there used a defibrillator to save David Morris.

Headteacher Catherine O'Neill Edwards used the lifesaving piece of equipment - which had been delivered just weeks earlier - after Mr Morris collapsed at the school in October.

The CardiacSmart event recognised individuals and organisations who have dedicated time to raising awareness and promoting heart health, defibrillators and basic life support across the Northwest.

Wirral Council now has the life-saving piece of kit in 29 buildings that are open to the public, thanks to a partnership with the North West Ambulance Service and funding from the Public Health Outcomes Fund.

Another partnership between the council, Wirral Schools’ Forum and the Oliver King Foundation led to a commitment to have defibrillators put in all local schools.

Ms O’Neill Edwards, said: “I’ve no doubt in my mind if we hadn’t had the defibrillator in school then our caretaker wouldn’t still be with us. That’s how important it is that this equipment is in as many places as possible and that members of the public know they are there.”

Cllr Adrian Jones, cabinet member for support services, said: “The importance of these machines in saving people’s lives cannot be underestimated.

"This award is testament to the hard work of officers from the council’s health, safety and resilience team, backed by the support of the North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust (NWAS) and the Public Health Outcomes Fund. We now have many publicly-accessible council buildings equipped with defibrillators.”

David Armstrong, Wirral's interim chief executive, added: “Much credit for the fact that we now have defibrillators in all our schools has to go to Mark King from the Oliver King Foundation, who has lobbied tirelessly on this issue since his son collapsed and died while at school in 2011.”


Defibrillators are in place at the following council buildings...