A LIFE-saving service in Malvern has been nominated for an award.

Heartstart Malvern has been nominated for The Volunteer Award at this year’s NHS Parliamentary Awards.

The award category recognises the crucial role volunteers play in supporting local health and social services.

The Malvern based charity, run entirely by volunteers, will have to wait until Monday, June 10, to see if it has been shortlisted in the regional round of the awards.

If it is shortlisted, the charity will attend the Awards Ceremony in London on Monday, July 1.

Dame Harriett Baldwin, MP for West Worcestershire, said:

“I have known about HeartStart Malvern since I attended its foundation in 2017 and Richard and his team have been doing an amazing job getting more defibrillators to Malvern and rolling out vital training sessions.

“I had no hesitation nominating the charity for the NHS Parliamentary Award and I will continue to support the great work they do helping more people have the chance of surviving a serious cardiac incident.

“I encourage as many people and businesses as possible to come forward and get trained.”

 Lucy Chenevix-Trench (Heartstart Malvern patron) said: “We are thrilled to be nominated for such a prestigious award. Our small team of volunteers have given up an enormous amount of their time to provide free life-saving training to more than 5,000 local residents and schoolchildren, and to fundraise for the 34 defibrillators which we have installed in Malvern.”

Heartstart Malvern was launched in January, 2017, with the aim of increasing the survival rate from cardiac arrests in Malvern and the surrounding area. The charity is aiming to do this by providing free Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and defibrillator training and by installing public access defibrillators in the local community.

Heartstart Malvern training sessions are 90 minutes long and are very practical. During the training session participants are trained to perform Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation and how to use a defibrillator.

Volunteers deliver this training in schools, community groups, sports clubs and local businesses.

At its launch in 2017, the charity set a target of installing 50 public access defibrillators around Malvern. Despite the pandemic stopping all fundraising activities, the charity has installed 33 defibrillators and would like to install the remaining 17 by 2027. Each defibrillator and cabinet costs about £2,000 to buy and instal.

For more information about Heartstart Malvern or to book a course, please visit www.heartstartmalvern.org.uk or call 07926 615812