Aylsham church receives new defibrillator

St John of the Cross Catholic Church in Aylsham has received a new defibrillator, donated by the Swimming Teachers' Association.

The Swimming Teachers' Association (STA) is the largest swimming teaching body in the world and one of the UK's leading bodies in life saving, first aid and pool plant.
 
The defibrillator was presented to Fr Peter Raj, Aylsham’s Catholic Parish Priest, in front of parishioners by STA Tutor and North Norfolk Viking's Swimming Coach, John Holden who said: “Defibs can make all the difference in a life and death situation.  Unfortunately, some people believe you have to be qualified to use one, but this is not the case.”
 
Fran Ludden, Chair of the Parish Pastoral Council at North Walsham’s Sacred Heart Catholic Church, said: “We would like to thank the trustees of the STA for their kind generosity. Having a defib on site will eliminate any delay should there be an incident. Previously, the nearest defib point from us meant almost 1km round trip, which is too much delay in the case of a cardiac arrest."
 
The Aylsham parish has run three CPR/Defib workshops for their parishioners which have been tutored by Mr Holden, and another one is scheduled for this month.
 
"I would urge the public to come forward to learn CPR and have a look at how to use a defibrillator" concluded Mr Holden .
 
The photo shows Fr Peter Raj centre, receiving the new defibrillator from John Holden, and was supplied by Mr Holden. 

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