Poole town centre gets lifesaving defibrillator thanks to MSP Capital

By Giles Gwinnett

27 September 2023

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From left - MSP Capital colleagues Lucy Green, compliance analyst, and Louise Garner, junior underwriter, both members of the firm’s community committee who funded the defibrillator; Georgina Newman, receptionist, who led on its installation; and Melissa Parker, office manager and people advisor - picture contributed

STANDING BY: The new defibrillator, accessible 24 hours a day, is located on the outside wall of MSP Capital’s Strata House office in Castle Street in the heart of Poole old town. Postcode: BH15 1BQ. From left are MSP Capital colleagues Lucy Green, Compliance Analyst, and Louise Garner, Junior Underwriter, both members of the firm’s Community Committee who funded the defibrillator; Georgina Newman, Receptionist, who led on its installation; and Melissa Parker, Office Manager and People Advisor.

MSP Capital, the property finance group, have bought and positioned a defibrillator outside its Poole headquarters, which can help save lives in case of a heart attack.

The automated external defibrillator (AED) delivers a high energy, electric shock to the heart through and is most effective when administered in the first minutes after a cardiac victim collapses.

And it has already been put to use.

The firm received notification that the box, within 48 hours of it being installed, had been accessed by a member of the public who also rang the emergency services.

MSP receptionist Georgina Newman said: "It goes to show that this will make a huge impact on our local community and the ambulance service.

"It means a lot to me and the rest of Team MSP that we have been able to provide this vital piece of kit in the local area which is usually very busy."

Lender MSP Capital has also now organised training in CPR, or cardiopulmonary resuscitation, for its staff.
Joint managing director Paul Miracca added: "Installing the defibrillator is all about giving reassurance to people in our community.

"At the same time, by offering staff training we can ensure our team feel empowered to help if another emergency should occur."

According to the British Heart Foundation, there are more than 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in the UK each year with a survival rate of fewer than one in ten. It says early CPR and defibrillation can double the chances of survival.

The new defibrillator is one of only a handful of outdoor AEDs in Poole to be registered on the circuit and available 24 hours a day.

Data collected on UK cities in 2022 by occupational health and safety specialist CE Safety indicated that Bournemouth had one of the lowest numbers of AEDs, with just ten registered. Birmingham had the most with 954.

MSP Capital moved to Strata House in Castle Street, old town Poole in 2021. That same year, it teamed up with chartered surveyors Wellington King to donate a portable AED to the Cherries Community Trust, the charitable arm of Premier League team AFC Bournemouth.

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By Giles Gwinnett

Giles Gwinnett is a writer at The Business Magazine. He has been a journalist for more than 20 years and covered a vast array of topics at a range of media settings - in print and online. After his NCTJ newspaper training, he became a reporter in Hampshire before moving to a news agency in Gloucestershire. In recent years, he has been covering the financial markets along with company news for an investor-focused web portal. His many interests include politics, energy and the environment. He lives in Dorset.