NEW DEFIBRILLATOR and bleed control kit cabinets have been installed at Coventry Skydome with support from a Warwickshire charity.
The cabinets have been installed after support from the OurJay Foundation, Coventry Business Improvement District (BID) and Coventry Skydome, which now offers potentially life-saving equipment for use on the external concourse at the venue.
The OurJay Foundation was formed in memory of 18-year-old Jamie Rees who passed away after a cardiac arrest in 2022.
Naomi Rees-Issitt, Jamie’s mum and chair of the foundation, said “We have had a great response to the campaign in Warwickshire but now we are looking to expand the number of defibrillators in Coventry.
“The defibrillator installed at the HMV Empire has been triggered eight times since it was installed and the bleed kit there has saved a life.”
Jamie was a regular visitor to Coventry city centre and enjoyed ice skating at Planet Ice in the Skydome.
The OurJay Foundation has now installed over 240 accessible defibrillators around the UK in Jamie’s memory with hopes to continue expanding.
Coventry BID manager Joanne Glover said: “It’s absolutely vital that we have life-saving equipment available at key locations in Coventry.
“The equipment will be on standby 24/7 and ready to save lives, allowing people to act quickly if required in an emergency.
“We are pleased to have been able to work in partnership with the Skydome and OurJay Foundation to make this possible.”
Liz Middleton, operations manager at Coventry Skydome, said: “We hope that we will never have to use the equipment, but it gives us and our communities peace of mind to have the lifesaving equipment on site, should we ever be in that situation.”
