Two forecourt operators at other ends of the country have been giving something back to their communities by installing defibrillators on the outside wall of their stores.
James Hall & Co’s company-owned store division, G&E Murgatroyd, has been working with local charity Southport Saviours to improve 24-hour access to the potentially life-saving equipment with an installation at its Spar Roe Lane forecourt in Southport: one of at least four of its sites the business is planning to have fitted with the kits.
Mark Layton, area manager at James Hall & Co says the business wanted to get involved given the role its stores play in the community: “We are very pleased to support the Southport Saviours and the charity’s ambition of increasing the number of defibrillators locally that are accessible at all hours of the day.”
Richard Moore, chairman of the Southport Saviours, says that making the defibrillators available 24 hours is hugely important, with more than 30,000 out of hospital cardiac arrests in the UK each year, and the overall survival rates for such incidents being less than one in 10.
In North Dorset, independent forecourt operator Hawtree & Sons, Riverside, near Gillingham, has also been funding defibrillators in its locality with its fourth installed this January in nearby village Stour Row, and last year one added to the exterior of its just under 4,000 sq ft Spar store. Partner Seb Hawtree says that since Covid, when the business saw sales increase by 30%, his family committed to installing one of the kits in the locality every year. “We wanted to give something back to the community and this seemed a fitting way to do it,” says Seb.
