Queensgate to host training for the public

The announcement comes after the shopping centre received a new Public Access Defibrillator (PAD) and was awarded a CPR training kit from the British Heart Foundation.

The new state-of-the-art portable equipment will be located by the Queensgate Bus Station public lift and will be accessible to members of the public to use to help restart a heart when someone has a cardiac arrest.

Queensgate already has several defibrillators, most of which are kept in the individual shops.

Mark Broadhead, centre director at Queensgate, said: “The new equipment has been designed specifically for everyday people to be able to use and we’re incredibly grateful to the British Heart Foundation for their support.

“Our staff are well trained to respond to such incidents, but if a person at the scene is able to start this procedure, this can have a greater chance for the person in trouble.”

Over the next month, all of Queensgate’s staff will be trained to use the equipment and voluntary sessions will be open for retail staff to receive the 30-minute training.

Queensgate will also announce dates and times for members of the public to learn how to use the equipment.

Sara Askew, head of survival at the British Heart Foundation, said: “In the UK more than 30,000 people suffer a cardiac arrest outside of hospital every year but less than one in 10 survive.

“We are delighted that Queensgate have joined the BHF’s Nation of Lifesavers campaign by making another defibrillator available and teaching CPR locally.

“It could really be the difference between life and death.”