The East of England Co-op has installed more than 100 automated external defibrillators (AEDs) across the region as part of its Every Minute Counts campaign.
As a result, it has been shortlisted for the title of Community Hero in St John Ambulance’s annual Every Day Heroes awards.
The East of England Co-op has invested £260,000 in recent years to increase the number of community access defibrillators and has worked with the East of England Ambulance Service to ensure they are installed in areas of need.
Half of those installed are located outside Co-op stores in the region and, as a result, 550,000 people living in harder to reach parts of East Anglia are now within four minutes of an AED.
There have already been 11 instances where one of the AEDs installed by the East of England Co-op has had to be deployed.
Executive officer for membership and marketing at the East of England Co-op, Minnie Moll, said: “We’re incredibly pleased to have been named as a finalist alongside so many inspiring groups and individuals who have helped to save lives.
“With eleven of the defibrillators we installed having already been deployed, it just goes to show how vital quick access to this kind of potentially lifesaving equipment is.”
The awards are being held tonight (Wednesday) at the Lancaster London hotel.
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