Construction equipment and services provider Speedy has partnered with Aero Healthcare and the British Heart Foundation (BHF), installing Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) at all of the company’s operational locations UK wide, while committing to help raise funds for lifesaving research into heart conditions.
Aero Healthcare has supplied 170 Heartsine PAD 500P defibrillators to the firm as part of the rollout, helping it to make a life-saving difference for colleagues, customers, and local communities across the country.
There are more than 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in the UK each year, and every minute without CPR and defibrillation decreases a person’s chances of survival by up to 10%.
Defibrillators restore a normal heartbeat by sending an electric pulse or shock to the heart. They can also restore the heart’s beating if it suddenly stops. Speedy colleagues at every store will be trained to use the defibrillators, while receiving CPR training from the BHF as part of the partnership.
Speedy has pledged to help raise much needed funds for the BHF as part of a long term partnership with the charity. The money raised will help the BHF to fund lifesaving research into heart and circulatory conditions such as coronary heart disease, stroke, vascular dementia and risk factors such as hypertension and diabetes.
Employees are also participating in a BHF-supported health and wellbeing programme, which includes health checks and personalised advice on decreasing cardiovascular risk.
Russell Down, Chief Executive at Speedy said: “The safety and wellbeing of our colleagues and customers is our number one priority. By installing AEDs at all of our sites, we can be confident that if colleagues, customers or nearby residents suffer a cardiac arrest, we have the means to make a lifesaving difference as part of a first medical response. We’re delighted to partner with the BHF and support a cause we are passionate about, while also helping to improve the health of our colleagues.”
Hayley Gough, Corporate and Community Manager at the British Heart Foundation (BHF) said: “The BHF is proud to be working with Speedy this year to help raise further funds towards our vital research. Our life-saving work aims to find cures and treatments for the 7.6 million people in the UK living with heart and circulatory diseases, and we cannot fund this research without the support of organisations like Speedy. We are pleased to be part of the rollout of defibrillators across the business and look forward to working together to make sure that colleagues have the confidence to use them if needed.”
Iain Lawrence, Business Development Manager at Aero Healthcare said “We are delighted to make our AED’s available to Speedy. Sudden cardiac incidents can happen to anyone at anytime, anywhere and we would encourage every business to follow the example of Speedy in installing these lifesaving devices.”
The partnership forms part of Speedy’s ambitious ESG programme, introducing new programmes that support the wellbeing of Speedy’s employees and local communities, while curbing the business’ environmental impact as part of the supply chain.
Speedy is the UK’s leading provider of tools, equipment and plant hire services to a wide range of customers in the construction, infrastructure and industrial markets, as well as to local trade and industry. It operates from 200 sites across the UK and Ireland and employs 3,300 people.
