The installation of a new Automated External Defibrillator (AED) at a store on Laurel Hill Road in Coleraine means more potentially lifesaving equipment is now available in the local area.

SPAR Laurel Hill’s new defibrillator will be available 24/7 for the local community which houses schools, playgroups and community centres. The device has been installed on the outside of the store, providing essential access even when the store is not open.

It means there are now six local SPAR stores in Coleraine with defibrillators installed, including at SPAR Mountsandel Knocklynn, SPAR on Greenmount Avenue, SPAR Castlerock Road, SPAR Millburn Road and SPAR filling station on Bushmills Road.

The team at Laurel Hill fundraised with their shoppers to have the defibrillator installed as part of Henderson Group’s Heart of our Community campaign, an initiative to get Northern Ireland’s largest network of external defibrillators installed right in the heart of both urban and rural communities.

The new AED at SPAR Laurel Hill will be registered with The Circuit, the defibrillator network launched by the British Heart Foundation in partnership with the NHS, Microsoft and UK ambulance services, connecting every device to its local ambulance service and the public.

James Henderson, director at SPAR Laurel Hill explained; “We are delighted to be able to bring such essential equipment to our local community. We are a little removed from the centre of the town, and therefore we are local to primary schools, community centres and nursery schools as well as residential areas, so it is fantastic to have this now in our local area.

“We are so grateful to our shoppers in helping us raise the funds to install the device, and while we hope it is never needed, we also hope it can serve to potentially save a life.”

Bronagh Luke, Head of Corporate Marketing at Henderson Group which owns SPAR in Northern Ireland, and who spearheaded the defibrillator campaign added; “These defibrillators are easy to use, and the first port of call should always be 999. The Ambulance Service will talk the user through everything from locating the device, to CPR and use of it.

“A number of devices have been fitted at SPAR, EUROSPAR and ViVO stores in the past couple of months, with some retailers donating additional devices to local Churches, primary schools and community halls. It brings our total number of Automated External Defibrillators installed outside SPAR stores in Northern Ireland to 275, providing a potential lifeline to those who may need it when an emergency happens. All 105 Henderson Retail stores also now have defibrillators installed.

“We know that 20 lives have been saved thanks to our defibrillators, and we hope to see many more installed in the coming years.”

For more on SPAR NI’s Heart of the Community campaign, visit spar-ni.co.uk/heart-of-our-community.

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