Princethorpe College in Rugby is leading the way in pupil and community medical emergency safety as well as sustainable thinking, by installing a wind and solar powered defib and bleed control cabinet. It is the first UK school to take such an initiative. The independent school for 11 to 18 year olds has partnered with the OurJay Foundation – which fundraises and campaigns for publicly accessible defibrillators and trains and educates on CPR and the use of defibs – and local company Share Haulage Ltd; each, along with the school's Parents and Teachers Association (PTA), has funded one-third of the costs.
The innovative technology which can help to save lives in places where an electricity supply may be restricted or cost-prohibitive to install, was launched by Turtle Defib Cabinets in December 2023, following a four- month pre-launch period with partners Northamptonshire Sport and Kington Golf Club. Princethorpe College's cabinet has a bespoke backboard with instructions on how to use the defib equipment and the fixing pole is the colour of the Foundation's logo.
Already in discussions with Princethorpe College's PTA about installing a public defib in an optimal location for the community and to serve the school's sports fields, Naomi Rees-Issitt, the founder of the OurJay Foundation, saw news about Turtle's solar and wind defib cabinet. She explained: "It's a staggering fact that 91 per cent of cardiac arrests happen within 500 yards of a school but often they are behind closed doors. In discussion with the PTA at Princethorpe we wanted to see if we could install one on the sports fields, near to the main Coventry to Banbury road. There was no electricity supply in the desired location, so we looked to find an alternative solution. We said wouldn't it be great if there was a renewable energy option and then discovered Turtle's brand-new technology being used at a golf club. The timing was perfect, and the cabinet met all our needs."
OurJay's partner, Share Haulage, quickly offered to support the project and Princethorpe College, were happy to go ahead with the installation. The OurJay Foundation is also donating a wired defib cabinet to Princethorpe's sister school, for pupils aged four to 11, the Crescent School in Bilton, Rugby.
Grove du Toit, Headmaster at Princethorpe College, said: "It's a real honour to be leading the way on the installation of this new defib technology. We understand that the first seven minutes are crucial when dealing with a cardiac arrest, so having the equipment close to hand and easily accessible to both our pupils and the public will be a major factor in potentially saving lives. We thank the OurJay Foundation, Share Haulage and our PTA for all their support."
Mike Dowson, Founder and MD or Turtle Defib Cabinets, who designed and engineered the UK's first wind and solar powered defib and bleed control cabinet, added: "When we started on the research and development of our wind and solar powered defib cabinet over two years ago, this is the positive reaction we hoped for. From school sports fields to public parks, from golf courses to construction sites, places that don't have an electric supply can be readied for medical emergencies and the wider Princethorpe community can now enjoy peace of mind."
Naomi Rees-Issitt, founded the OurJay Foundation after her 18-year- old son Jamie suffered a cardiac arrest and sadly died because the nearest defibrillator was locked inside the local secondary school.
https://turtledefibcabinets.co.uk/
