A joint project between churches has seen a new defibrillator installed in Dudley.

Located on the exterior of The Straits church hall, the life-saving equipment is the result of a collaboration between St Andrew’s Church and Bridge Church Gornal.

The churches identified the lack of easily accessible defibrillators in the area.

 

 

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Recognising heart disease as one of the top five causes of death in over 50s, the partnership began planning and applying for supporting funding in the summer of 2023.

The Revd Catherine Mitchell, acting team rector, in the Gornal and Sedgley Team Ministry, said: "We really wanted to bless and serve our local community with this project.

"Having realised that there were no public defibrillators very close, we developed the idea in the summer of 2023 and have been applying for supporting funding.

"We are grateful for the support of the local councillors and the funding from Your Home: Your Forum (Dudley North), and hope that this equipment will help to save lives."

A launch event will take place on Thursday, March 28 at 2pm, with councillors, businesspeople and residents set to be in attendance.

Free training on operating the defibrillator will also be provided on Thursday, May 16 from 7pm by St John Ambulance in the Church Hall.