Studio 44 teams up with local charity to install defibrillator following the Christian Eriksen's collapse
Daniel Harris, the founder of Studio 44, said that the Denmark captain’s sudden cardiac arrest in-game against Finland inspired him to get a defibrillator installed.
“After seeing the incident at the Euro’s, we realised the importance of having access to a tool that can save lives,” Daniel said. “This is a piece of equipment that we’ve seen is vital, especially in a setting where physical activity will be done frequently.
Daniel explains that the event came at a time where he and his team had recently learned first-hand of the importance of defibrillators.
“Two weeks before Eriksen’s collapse, we put on a first aid course for some of our staff and the local community,” he said. “I personally took part in the course and was saw how it highlighted just how important equipment like this is.
“It’s staggering how many people can be saved with its use.”
Daniel explained that, when he researched where their closest defibrillator was, he found it was in a petrol station over 10 minutes away from the studio.
“I knew this was just too far away for a studio like ours, especially when you factor in traffic,” he said. “So, we put out a CTA to fundraise for a defibrillator to be fitted at the studios.
“After initially getting in touch with local businesses to fund its installation, we noticed a lot of people were tagging in a charity on social media. It was The Tom Henson Charity and Defib Map charity, which are coincidently based in our area.”
The charity works to create an online map of defibrillator locations all over the UK, in memory of Tom Henson from Derbyshire, who had a cardiac arrest while playing football in 2019.
“I’d heard about them years ago, but it never occurred to me,” Daniel said. “They knew of our efforts in the local community and generously donated both a defibrillator device and cabinet to us. Ben Wood, the manging director of the Ben Wood Group also installed the electrics to the unit and the defibrillator free of charge.
“The Tom Henson Charity then registered it on a map, so everyone in our community will know that ours is located outside the building and registered with the emergency services.
“In addition, we’ve also decided The Tom Henson Charity and Defib Map is to be our chosen charity.”
