Community Defibrillator at RNLI Lifeboat Station

The British Heart Foundation say, ‘Around 30,000 people have an out of hospital cardiac arrest every year in the UK and less than 1 in 10 will survive. Using a defibrillator in 3-5 minutes along with immediate CPR can improve survival rates to 50-70%.’

Portishead RNLI would like to thank the many people who supported the installation, sourcing and funding of this vitally important lifesaving kit, this includes our local community who helped to raise vital funds through donations to The Portishead Lifeboat Trust*, to the Portishead Lions DeFib network who sourced the defibrillator and bleed kit all coordinated by our RNLI volunteer Bob Crane. We also would like to thank Jon Colwill MD of Combined Building & Electrical Services Ltd (Bristol), who is also an RNLI crew volunteer, for installing the defibrillator at the lifeboat station.

All defibrillators are registered as part of the British Heart Foundation UKCircuit database which links emergency calls to the nearest device.

If you find yourself in the unfortunate situation where you need to use a defibrillator, call 999 and ask for the code which will allow you access the equipment, the ‘what 3 words’ to the location at the lifeboat station are, ‘airbrush.abacus.nibbled’. Remember every second counts….

*The Portishead Lifeboat Trust – is the charity set up when the lifeboat was independent and before the RNLI adoption. This charity is still operating and all funds go directly to the RNLI volunteers in Portishead.

Notes to editors – Images are ©RNLIPortishead

· Defibrillator at the station with: left to right, crew volunteer Ian Reed, Portishead Lions Phil Jordan, Linda Denning, Adrian Workman, Paul Bridgen, Bob Crane, Jon Colwill, Mike Roberts RNLI Portishead President & Portishead Lifeboat Trust Chairperson, Phil Smith Portishead Lifeboat Trust Trustee, crew volunteer Emma Tilke.

· Lifesaving defibrillator in postion at RNLI Portishead Lifeboat Station

RNLI media contacts

For more information please contact Helen Lazenby, volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer, on 07800 595995, [email protected] or the RNLI Press Office on 01202 336789.

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Key facts about the RNLI

The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates over 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and, in a normal year, more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 143,080 lives.

Key facts about the RNLI

The RNLI is the charity that saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,700 lives.

Learn more about the RNLI

For more information please visit the RNLI website or Facebook, X, TikTok and YouTube. News releases, videos and photos are available on the News Centre.

Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries

Members of the public may contact the RNLI on 0300 300 9990 (UK) or 1800 991802 (Ireland) or by email.