THE MP for Vale of Clwyd, James Davies, made a visit to the O2 store in Rhyl to help raise awareness of the defibrillator now available for his constituents.

Virgin Media O2 has rolled out defibrillators to all company-owned stores across the UK, greatly increasing access to life-saving equipment on hundreds of high streets in partnership with the British Heart Foundation (BHF).

More than 200 defibrillators are now available and Virgin Media O2 is in the process of registering them on BHF’s National Defibrillator Network, The Circuit, meaning 999 call handlers will be able to quickly direct people to nearby stores in an emergency.

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Alongside the roll-out, Virgin Media O2 has also been training more staff – including those working in stores – in CPR, with hundreds of employees taking part in online sessions and in-person training.

Dr Davies visited the Rhyl store to hear about this work increasing the number of defibrillators in the constituency and spoke to the in-store staff about the CPR training they have received.

With every minute without access to CPR and defibrillation reducing the chance of survival by up to 10 per cent, he is urging more people to take the time to learn these life saving skills in case they are ever needed.

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Dr Davies said: “What an incredible initiative for Virgin Media O2 to roll out and I am pleased that this life-saving defibrillator is available to my constituents in Rhyl in emergency situations.

"It was great to meet the Virgin Media O2 store team in the White Rose Shopping Centre and I encourage all my constituents to take part in the free CPR RevivR training via the British Heart Foundation website.

“I only hope that other companies follow suit, and we can help save many valuable lives and families.”

Gareth Turpin, chief commercial officer (mobile) at Virgin Media O2, said: “We’re using our national network of High Street stores to improve access to life-saving defibrillators and make a real difference to the communities we serve like in Rhyl.

“It’s not just in stores where we hope we can make an impact; we’ve trained hundreds of our people in lifesaving CPR and zero-rated the BHF website and GoodSam app, so millions more people can learn vital skills or offer help in an emergency without using any of their data.

“With every second counting in a crisis, and CPR training taking just 15 minutes, there’s never been a better time to learn how to save a life.”