Life saving equipment donated to Aberavon seafront defibrillator campaign

Partners on a new state-of-the-art social housing development in Sandfields, Aberavon – J.G. Hale Construction and Tai Tarian – have donated £1,500 towards the installation of a new defibrillator on Aberavon Seafront.

The donation has been made in support of a local campaign to increase the number of life-saving defibrillators in the area, and is part of the Sandfields development’s community benefits initiative.

The campaign was started by locals Tom Richards and Ryan Phillips, following their personal experiences with family members suffering from cardiac conditions.

Working with the Heartbeat Trust, the campaign seeks to install four defibrillators along the seafront. It also aims to deliver training sessions on their usage, so that the community can react within the first critical moments of somebody suffering a heart attack.

The pair are being supported in their campaign by local Councillor Sean Pursey, who has been liaising with the local authority regarding planning permissions, alongside co-ordinating installation with the Heartbeat Trust.

The defibrillator donated by J.G. Hale Construction and Tai Tarian is the first to be installed and has been hailed as a great start to the pair’s campaign. 

The community benefits initiative has come about as part of the County Flats redevelopment project in Sandfields. The scheme will involve the transformation of 72 existing properties and create 55 new ones. It will eventually provide 127 carbon-neutral homes for social housing provider, Tai Tarian, delivered across three phases, over three years, and will achieve carbon neutrality via a range of in-house green and sustainable initiatives.

Tom Richards, one of the defibrillator campaign’s founders, said: “In May 2019, Ryan’s father passed away on Aberavon Beach Promenade due to a heart attack. My father has had a chronic heart condition for 8 years. Ryan came to me with the idea of installing a defibrillator as I work for the NHS. As we looked into it more, we realised there were only two defibs along the prom. Only one was accessible during opening times and another has 24hr access. We got in touch with local councillor Sean Pursey and we decided that four defibs would be needed, spread out evenly to cover the length of the prom, so that someone is never more than five minutes away from a defib when a cardiac arrest happens. Research has shown that deploying a defibrillator within 3–5 minutes of collapse can produce survival rates as high as 50–70%.”

Rebecca Thomas, Economic and Social Regeneration Manager at Tai Tarian, said: “When we heard about Ryan and Tom’s campaign to install defibrillators along Aberavon’s seafront, we were really keen to get involved. With Aberavon beach being such a popular location, it is vitally important to have these life-saving machines available within easy reach, 24 hours a day.”

“We were also thrilled that Hale Construction, who will be working with us to refurbish our nearby flats, shared this view and were just as eager to help out as part of our community benefits programme.”

Jonathan Hale, Group Chairman at J.G. Hale Group, added: “We were delighted to join Tai Tarian to support the donation of a defibrillator along Aberavon seafront, in line with Tom and Ryan’s campaign. The significance of having access to a defibrillator during a cardiac arrest, is critical, we know that they are vital in saving lives. Working within the local area of Sandfields, it is important for us to give back to the local community and support local initiatives.”