On Saturday 19th September Heartbeat Haddenham, in conjunction with Thame and District Lions Club, officially unveiled a publicly accessible defibrillator at Haddenham & Thame Parkway station, which is available at any time in case of an emergency.
The formal unveiling was conducted jointly by Cllr Nichola Dixon, the Mayor of Thame, and Cllr Margaret Aston, the Chairman of Haddenham Parish Council.
Tony Warris, one of the lead campaigners of Heartbeat Haddenham, said: "We are grateful to Thame & District Lions Club for kindly funding this defibrillator and the cabinet to house it.
"Thanks to generous funding from a number of other organisations and from village groups and individuals, we are also providing defibrillators at other locations in the village where the footfall is heaviest and, therefore, the risk of somebody suffering a cardiac arrest is greatest.
"Bearing in mind the number of people who use the station daily, this location was a prime candidate. We are grateful to the Thame & District Lions Club for recognising the importance of the station to the people of Thame, as well as for passengers from Haddenham and the surrounding area. Thanks are also due to Chiltern Railways for 'hosting' the defibrillator."
The Thame & District Lions Club raised the funds for the defibrillator during the period of office of their last President, Ken Bennell, who said that he was really pleased that the club had been able to raise sufficient funds during his period of office, as it had been one of his wishes at the beginning of his year in July 2014.
This was achieved by holding various fund raising events including raffling Easter Eggs in pubs and also using the proceeds of their annual Mile of Coins. He said also that he would like to thank the girls at Staying Alive Thame for their help, the members of the general public for their generous donations and also his colleagues in the Lions Club for their support on this project.
Chad Collins, Head of Stations at Chiltern Railways added: "Every week thousands of customers pass through the station so we're really pleased that Haddenham & Thame parkway has been chosen as a location for a permanent defibrillator."
Defibrillators are used to treat individuals who have suffered a cardiac arrest – in other words, when the heart has stopped beating in its normal co-ordinated manner. Someone who has suffered a cardiac arrest will be unresponsive, not moving and not breathing normally. This situation may occur as a result of a heart attack, but other causes are possible.
To learn how to use an automated defibrillator, see here
If you'd like to watch a video of one in use, you'll find a very engaging 10-minute feature (from a South African TV health programme) here