THE CHAIR of Trustees of defibrillator campaign group Droitwich AED has been handed a prestigious award from the West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS).
Pete Richards received the ‘AED Community Initiative Award’ at the Trust’s annual Excellence in the Community Awards 2018 in Brierley Hill.
The annual ceremony, which celebrates heroic acts, incredible bravery and life-saving moments over the past year, saw a number of awards handed out including Long Service Medals and Chief Officer Commendations.
Pete was commended for the time and effort he put into providing the community with defibrillators and raising awareness of the importance of basic life support and accessible emergency equipment.
Droitwich AED, formed a year ago, has installed 21 Community Public Access Defibrillators (CPADs) in the town in a bid to save more lives.
The group of volunteers also runs free Basic Life Support courses (BLS) on the first Friday of each month for people who want to learn CPR and how to use a defibrillator.
High Sheriff of the West Midlands John Hudson OBE and WMAS Chief Executive Officer, Anthony Marsh, presented the award.
Pete said: “It was a great privilege to be in a room with people who have done such amazing things, for example, kids who have done CPR to save a life or the hardworking paramedics from St John Ambulance.
“I didn’t get into this for the awards but I am so grateful. I did it to help the community and to do as much as I can to save lives.”
With an initial aim to locate CPADs half a mile apart in Droitwich, the charity is closer to its 30 target and aim to install one in every school.
For more on those and the defib campaign, email [email protected] or call Peter on 07957 214101.
