Four more defibrillators installed in Hartlepool in a week as town defib map gets busier

DS43 Community Defibrillators was established following the tragic death of Hartlepool United fan Danny Shurmer, who died aged 43 in June last year after suffering a cardiac arrest.

Danny’s parents, Pam and Bill Shurmer, who founded the group, have now revealed that the charity has nearly reached its initial aim of raising money for 29 defibrillators.

But they say more work needs to be done as the town keeps growing.

To date, 11 defibrillators in total have been installed across Hartlepool, with five more due to be installed in the next few weeks.

Nine additional defibrillators have also been ordered and are expected to be delivered in early March.

But Pam has said more funds will be needed for maintenance going forward and for the purchase of further defibrillators as more housing is being built in Hartlepool.

She said: "The town is expanding. There’s building going on at Marine Point, there’s building going out towards Elwick, Bishop Cuthbert is expanding, so we now need to take into consideration those areas, because we want to put defibs there as well.

"We still need to continue to raise money.”

Over the past week, four defibrillators were installed in Hartlepool United Supporters Club, The Greenside pub, the Raglan Quoit Club and the Travellers Rest pub.

Pam said: "The aim was that everyone within the town is within 500 metres of a defibrillator and we do mean everyone. This is for everybody, it’s not just for chosen areas.“

She continued: ”The people of Hartlepool have really taken this to their hearts. They’ve been absolutely fantastic.

"It’s unbelievable what they’ve done, from individuals, to groups, to colleagues of Daniel, to sportsmen in the town. People are just constantly thinking of things that they might be able to do to help us.

"An absolute huge thank you from us.”

Pam added: "For us, something positive had to come out of something that was very negative. We see this as Daniel’s legacy.”

To find out more, join the DS43 Community Defibrillators group on Facebook.

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