DEFIBRILLATORS IN EVERY SCHOOL

Tragic lad’s family win decade-long fight

THE family of a pupil who died of heart failure after a swimming race have won a 10-year battle to make defibrillators mandatory in schools.

Mark and Joanne King’s 12-year-old son Oliver suffered a fatal cardiac arrest in 2011.

They have since campaigned for the devices to be provided in all schools to prevent other families suffering a similar tragedy.

And after the Government said yesterday the machines would be in every state school in England by July next year, Mark said: “We’ve fought with tenacity to make defibrillators mandatory.

“I’m therefore delighted that, after our decade-long fight, the Government has finally listened and schools will now be equipped with them.

“It will mean families up and down the country won’t ever have to go through the pain that we did when we lost our Ollie. If there had been a defibrillator on site, our son would be alive today.”

Research shows using a defibrillator on a patient within five minutes of a cardiac arrest raises survival chances by over 40%.

The Government has now committed to funding at least one defibrillator in every school – with more for larger sites.

The total number required is estimated to be more than

20,000, with the first deliveries expected to begin before Christmas. And the

Department for Education said it would build on existing requirements for schools to teach first aid.

Education Secretary James Cleverly said “access to funding must not stand in the way of the” of the rollout.

He added: “The evidence clearly shows defibrillators drastically increase the chance of survival from a cardiac arrest.”

Oliver, a promising footballer with dreams of playing for Everton, died moments after winning a swimming race at King David High School in Childwall, Merseyside.

Mark and Joanne still live in the area and last September were given a Special Recognition Award for their campaigning by the Liverpool Echo.

The Oliver King Foundation, which they set up in memory of their son, was named Charity of the Year at the 2021 European Diversity Awards.

Former Liverpool and England defender Jamie Carragher, who supported their campaign, said the Government announcement was “fantastic news”.

He added: “This is testament to the relentless and unwavering campaigning of Mark and Joanne. They are an inspirational couple.”