The latest emergency defibrillator has been unveiled outside Tesco at the Craddocks Avenue Shopping areas thanks to the work undertaken by St. Stephens House Surgery PPG.
In the recent unveiling Patient Participation Group (PPG), Chair Martin Riddle thanked those who had contributed to the project particularly with donations from the Friends of Ashlea Medical Practice; Tesco; Wessex Property Consultants; and Ashtead Independent County Councillor Chris Townsend, who provided a donation from his community fund allocation, which is provided by Surrey County Council.
The unveiling was a poignant event as Mr Riddle mentioned the support given to the project by well-known local hardware store owner Phil Sayers, who sadly recently passed away. The unveiling of the defibrillator was accompanied by the unveiling of a plaque to Phil, on which he is described as “One of Ashtead’s well known and loved characters.”
Chris Townsend said that he had been involved in three or four of the defibrillator projects around Ashtead as they were important local community projects and therefore a really good use of his local County Council allocation.
He said the defibrillator project in Craddock’s Parade was, “very much in memory of Phil who had been a lifelong community member”.
Cllr. Townsend said that the community monies had also helped train some 80 volunteers in Ashtead to use the defibrillator, while more had undertaken remote training on Teams and Facebook.
“If it saves one life then it is worth every penny that’s been given, so it’s very important,” he said.
Video Produced by Johanna Fry Films
