Life saving device for Stretford Mall thanks to manager who suffered heart attack himself (From Messenger Newspapers)

Defibrillator installed at Stretford Mall

8:30am Thursday 5th April 2012 in News

Colin McCrory (left), manager of the Stretford Mall, and Warren Clays , account director for Origin, with a defibrillator

A LIFE-SAVING device is now on site at a busy Stretford shopping centre - thanks to a manager who had a heart attack himself while at his local supermarket.

Colin McCrory, manager of the Stretford Mall on Chester Road, was food shopping when he suffered a heart attack which came close to taking his life.

Colin, 50, a father-of-three, said: “I was just wandering around one minute with my shopping and the next minute this terrible pain just spread from my back to my chest and I lost all muscle control in my left arm.

“I dropped the shopping basket I was carrying and felt like I was going to hit the floor. I knew then that something very serious was happening.

“Fortunately I remained conscious and my partner, Angie, who is a nurse, recognised what was happening and got me to hospital very quickly but it was completely terrifying.”

Colin had surgery to have a stent fitted to open up his central heart artery which doctors told him was 98 per cent closed.

It was discovered he had already suffered two minor heart attacks previously which Colin had put down to bad cases of indigestion and doctors told him he was very lucky to be alive.

With his own personal experiences in the back of his mind, he has teamed up with the Stretford Mall’s cleaning and security contractors, Origin, to ensure an automated external defibrillator (AED) is on site with trained staff available at all times to use it.

A defibrillator is an emergency life-saving device which is used to help heart attack victims.

The portable appliance administers an electrical charge to the heart to establish a regular heartbeat.

All of Origin’s security staff have been trained to use the device so there is always somebody on site at the mall who knows how to help a shopper needing life saving support.

It is estimated that 30,000 people have a heart attack outside of hospital every year. For every minute which passes without defibrillation, their chances of survival decline by 14 per cent.

Warren Clays , account director for Origin, which has paid for the Stretford Mall device, said an AED in another shopping centre which they work for had been used to save the life of a shopper who had a heart attack.

Warren said: “I approached Colin about the possibility of bringing one to the Stretford Mall and he was all for it, even putting himself forward for training on how to use it if necessary.

“We have seen elsewhere the life-saving potential of these devices which we try to get in as many of the shopping centres we work with as possible.

“It is here not just for the mall but for the whole of the Stretford community.”

Colin agreed and said: “I know myself the terrible feeling when something like this happens to you and I want all our shoppers to know that we have this equipment here should such an unfortunate situation arise.

“We have been an important part of the community for a very long time and we take that role and responsibility very seriously. Having an AED on site with trained staff is just another example of our commitment to the community.”