Over the past few weeks around 130 colleagues from our Head Office in Coventry and Cement Plant in Rugby have taken part in Defibrillator awareness sessions run by local charity, the OurJay Foundation.

An automated external defibrillator or AED is a device which when used, gives a high energy electric shock to the heart of an individual who is in cardiac arrest. An AED, used together with cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR, can play an essential role in trying to save the life of someone who is in cardiac arrest. A defibrillator available within 8 minutes, can increase the chance of a person’s survival by up to 70%.

The awareness sessions aimed to inform our colleagues about when and how to use a defibrillator and about doing CPR. Feedback from the sessions was overwhelming positive, and in some cases emotional. Colleagues found the sessions incredibly informative and shared that they would now feel far more confident to use a defibrillator and conduct CPR if they needed to.

We’re very proud to share that our Cemex UK Rugby Cement Plant has funded an OurJay Defibrillator to be installed on the outside entrance to the site, which will be in easy reach of our site’s employees as well as being listed on the emergency services database, and available to be used by the general public in the area surrounding the plant.

The Our Jay Foundation was set up by Naomi Rees, whose 18-year-old son Jamie, passed away from a heart attack in 2022 – the nearest AED was locked in a nearby school and the ambulance crew arrived too late to save Jamie’s life. As well as raising awareness, Naomi’s Foundation raises funds to purchase and install accessible defibrillators across Rugby, Warwickshire and further afield.