Jesmond residents have praised a new defibrillator installed on Jesmond Road as a “favourable asset for our community”, saying that it provides reassurance.

The defibrillator outside Rehills was installed in October, taking the total number of defibrillators in Jesmond to 10. Its installation was organised and funded by nearby Holy Trinity Church on Churchill Road with the assistance of Jesmond Residents Association (JRA). The defribillator has not yet been used, but local resident David Kingston told JesmondLocal that the life-saving device is a “favourable asset to our community”.

The number of publicly accessible defibrillators in the UK has increased by more than 16% since the start of this year, according to provider Defibshop, including 469 new devices in the north east. According to Clemmetsen, Holy Trinity church paid for the defibrillator while JRA paid £324 for the installation. Maintenance costs will be funded by the church.

The original proposal was to install the defibrillator at Holy Trinity, but the building’s listed status prevented this. According to Nils Clemmetsen, secretary of the JPA, the option of placing the defibrillator in the church hall was considered, but “would have made it fairly inaccessible” since it would only be available when the hall was open.

A spokesperson for Rehill’s told JesmondLocal. “We saw some flyers that were being distributed to local businesses about the initiative, and we reached out immediately, because it seemed like a valuable addition to the community. Our involvement was pretty minimal – we helped pick the best appropriate spot for it and connected it to our power supply. There’s been lots of comments about it, people in the community are really positive about it.”

Rehill’s staff have been given the code that opens the door to the defibrillator. When the shop is closed, users can call 999 to get the code. “It feels that the process could be streamlined to make the defibrillator even more accessible in urgent situations,” commented the Rehill’s spokesperson.

You can find the location of other defibrillators here, and there is advice on how to use them here.