Lifesaving device Defibrillator accessed within 12 hours of being installed

A DEFIBRILLATOR, which had been installed in memory of a Bristol bus driver, had only been in place for 12 hours before being accessed for an emergency in the city centre.

- Abigail NICHOLSON

The equipment had been installed outside Turtle Bay on Broad Quay after First Bus driver and relief CCTV analyst Carlos Santos fundraised for it.

The installation was in memory of his late colleague, fellow driver Richard Dewdney, who died after suffering a heart attack in December.

And within 12 hours of the new Broad Quay defibrillator being installed it had already been accessed by a member of the public following a nearby medical emergency, but luckily ambulance crews arrived in time before it needed to be used.

The device, which was officially unveiled last week in memory of 79-year-old Richard Dewdney, who had only joined the First Bus team in 2022, now features on the British Heart Foundation’s Defib Finder website - an interactive map showing you the nearest lifesaving equipment.