I AM writing in regards to having a defibrillator installed in Templars Square shopping centre, in Cowley.

I feel that, given other shopping centres around Oxfordshire have been fitted with a defibrillator, it is only right that Templars Square should not be an exception.

The centre is always busy, full of shoppers and workers rushing around, and the large volumes of people and the heightened pressure of stress unfortunately act as a recipe, increasing the chances of someone suffering a cardiac arrest in the shopping centre.

Did you know that 70 per cent of cardiac arrests occur outside the hospital environment? Oxfordshire, as you know, suffers with terrible congestion. You might be thinking what does traffic have to do with a shopping centre having a defibrillator? But emergency response times to a cardiac arrest incident are approximately 8 to 10 minutes, and this will be severely increased by the large volumes of traffic and cars passing through the area, as well as those looking for parking going into the shopping centre.

When someone has suffered a sudden cardiac arrest, they lose approximately 10 per cent of their survival chances for every minute that passes without the right treatment. Surely you would be looking to lessen this number by having a defibrillator fitted? This could make all the difference and could actually help save a life. The elderly and those with heart problems are undoubtedly more at risk of a cardiac arrest.

Speaking with others as well as from my own perspective, having a defibrillator at my local shopping centre would give great piece of mind and in turn help to reassure myself and other alleviating the niggling anxiety of ‘what if’.

Of course, we hope that the situation never arises where the defibrillator will have to be used, but having equipment on standby that could save someone’s life is surely the reason in itself to have one installed.

RAY WHITTAKER
Temple Cowley