“The moment someone has a cardiac arrest, the clock starts ticking. Every minute without CPR and defibrillation reduces their chances of survival.” – The British Heart Foundation

Conscious of this, PH Racing Club wanted to make sure we had access to a defibrillator at our normal training base at Masterton Business Park, affectionately known as ‘The Loop’. After some initial work by Dan Monaghan, fellow-committee member Stuart Meiklejohn agreed to take on this project.

Without a building of our own, we needed a location with a power supply and this is where fellow club member Paul Dunning came in. As director of local company Prime Industrial & Janitorial Supplies Ltd, he has an office in the business park and liaised with neighbours The Linden Tree Dental Lounge to enable us to fit the defibrillator to their building.

Having looked into various options for purchasing one, Stuart was able to secure a unit through St John Scotland using £1000 of club funds. All that was now left to do was to get it fitted. Fortunately, another club member, John Cassells, Electrical Contractor, was able to complete the necessary works to get the defib up and running. The club is committed to ensuring the pads are charged and all kit is ready to be deployed, while Paul has also kindly offered to donate a first aid kit to be kept inside the cabinet.

We sincerely hope that the equipment is never needed but it should give peace of mind to all club members to know that it is available if necessary. The area is also used by various other running clubs, dog walkers and people on way to the various nearby offices, so the defibrillator is a useful community resource. It is also listed on the British Heart Foundation’s website The Circuit so it can be located by anyone in an emergency.

Photo by Ed Norton. Left to Right: Stuart Meiklejohn (PH Racing); Roger Gonçalves (Dentist, The Linden Tree Dental Lounge); Paul Dunning (PH Racing/Prime Industrial & Janitorial Supplies Ltd); John Cassells (John Cassells Electrical Contractor)