A Darlington-based health and safety building compliance company has installed a potentially life-saving equipment piece of equipment outside its premises on one of the town’s trading estates.
The Automated External Defibrillator (AED) has been fitted by Eton Environmental Group at its UK head office on the Faverdale Trading Estate.
It is believed to be the first defibrillator on the estate and will be available for use by members of the public, paramedics or first responders in the event of an emergency.
Community defibrillators like these have been shown to increase the chances of survival from 10% to over 57%. That is because following a cardiac arrest, for every one-minute delay, the likelihood of survival plummets by up to 10%.
Eton Environmental Group, which works across the UK providing a range of building compliance services including asbestos surveys, legionella risk assessments, and fire risk management assessments, has invested over £1,000 in the defibrillator.
The equipment was supplied by the leading UK defibrillator charity London Hearts, which also provided some funding towards the overall cost.
Eton Environmental Group Director Joanna Shaefer said “Given the nature of our business, which is all about keeping people safe, we thought it was appropriate to invest in a defibrillator which can be used by all the businesses on the trading estate and by people in the Faverdale area in general.
“We’re hoping it will never need to be used, but if there is a medical emergency and people know where it is located and can use it to save a life, then the investment pales into insignificance.
“As a company which started life in Darlington in 2004, we are constantly looking at ways of giving something back to communities which have been so supportive of us and where many of our staff live, so this forms an important part of our corporate social responsibility programme.”
The defibrillator is situated outside the entrance to Eton Environmental Group’s office at 1 Trinity Court, Faverdale North, Darlington, DL3 0PH. In the event of an emergency people can call 999, give the location of the defibrillator and they will then be given a code to unlock the cabinet to gain access to the defibrillator.
