The family and friends of Wilmslow paramedic Paul Walton, who sadly died before Christmas, have so far raised more than £6,000 to fund heart defibrillators in his memory.
Family friend and colleague of Paul’s, Sara Harris explained: “If someone suffers a cardiac arrest commencing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and getting and using a defibrillator on them in as short a time as possible gives them the best chance of survival.”
Sara added: “Literally seconds count. For every minute that a patient doesn’t have access to a defibrillator and CPR their chance of survival drops by nearly 10%.”
Paul, a father of four, was always actively involved in supporting his local community, sports, music, beavers and even mountain rescue.
Friends say his warm and witty personality, combined with his extensive knowledge, was a benefit to all. They’ve praised him as a first class paramedic.
“Paul spent his life helping others so in his memory we want to place as many defibrillators within the community as possible,” continued Sara.
In the UK there are more than 60,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests each year, but fewer than 1 in 10 patients survive to leave hospital.
According to the Resus Council UK, immediate bystander CPR and the use of a defibrillator prior to an ambulance crew’s arrival can dramatically increase the chance of survival to more than 50%.
Whilst this is great news, it is only possible if there is easy access to defibrillators and people trained in CPR.
Sara said: “It’s no good businesses, sports clubs and other organisations thinking that because there is a defibrillator a 5-minute walk away it’s OK. It’s not. That’s just too late for the patient.
“What a tribute to Paul it would be if we can put as many defibrillators as possible across our communities as well as training people in CPR.
“If we can save just one life then we would be continuing Paul’s work and he would have been utterly delighted.”
If you would like to contribute to the campaign, there is a JustGiving page and local businesses are encouraged to support the campaign via this page too.
