Oliver King: Charity celebrates defibrillator in every school

A man whose son died suddenly after a cardiac arrest has said achieving his aim of having a defibrillator in every school in England was "fantastic news".

Oliver King, 12, from Liverpool, died from a rare heart condition during a school swimming lesson in 2011.

His father Mark King said: "It's fantastic news. We've waited for more than 10 years for this."

The Department for Education said the life-saving kit was now in all schools which did not previously have one.

Mr King said: "The DfE promised me they would all be rolled out by the end of this academic year and they have kept to their word."

Oliver, who attended King David School, Liverpool, had SADS (Sudden arrhythmic death syndrome), a condition which affects an estimated 500 people annually in the UK.

Sudden arrhythmic death syndrome is when someone dies suddenly and unexpectedly from a cardiac arrest, but the cause of the cardiac arrest cannot be found.

Mr King said when he founded the charity one of its goals was to have a defibrillator alongside every fire extinguisher placed in a public building by the time "Ollie's 21st birthday came round".

He added: "We couldn't do everything which is why we started with schools."

Mr King also said 71 lives had been saved thanks to the charity's donation of more than 6,000 defibrillators to schools and other groups along with back-up training.

He added the charity's next goal was to build a centre for anyone who had a pacemaker or defibrillator fitted where they can receive advice, peer support and friendship.

"Instead of watching Netflix we can teach you how to live again," he said.

A DfE statement said: "The Government has ensured every state school in England has a life-saving defibrillator."

It said the £19m rollout, which began in January, came "after campaigning by Mark King who tragically lost his son, Oliver King, to sudden cardiac arrest at school, aged 12."

Secretary of State for Education Gillian Keegan added: "Having access to defibrillators in schools drastically increases the chance of pupils, teachers and visitors surviving a cardiac arrest."

She also praised the "tireless campaigning" of Mr King as well as former Liverpool and England footballer Jamie Carragher and his wife Nicola.

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