Steve Rotheram welcomes ₤4m Inspiring Science Fund investment in Liverpool City Region

STEVE Rotheram has welcomed the inclusion of two Liverpool City Region science centres in a ₤13m Inspiring Science Fund designed to deliver science learning and engagement opportunities to young people across the country.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy yesterday announced that the Catalyst Science Discovery Centre in Halton would receive ₤754,600 to help launch their Catalyst for a future generation project while Eureka! Mersey has received ₤3m to support a 21st Century Science and Discovery Centre for 0 to 14 year olds at the existing Spaceport attraction.

Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, welcomed the news of the investment saying:- "It is fantastic that 2 City Region science centres have received such a substantial share of the government’s Inspiring Science Fund. Inspiring our young people, particularly girls, to pursue careers in STEM is a long-term ambition of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and integral to our Local Industrial Strategy Eureka! has been a huge success in Halifax instilling excitement and interest in science, technology, engineering and maths. I’m sure it will help attract visitors to the Wirral as well as encouraging our next generation to look at STEM subjects. Likewise, the Catalyst Science Discovery Centre in in Widnes has been inspiring future scientists in our City Region for over 30 years and this additional funding will help ensure it can continue to do so for decades to come"

Cllr Eddie Jones, Halton Borough Council’s portfolio holder for Economic Development, says:- "This funding is great news for Halton and the City Region. The Council and Catalyst worked closely on the bid and will continue to do so going forward. We look forward to the development of this exciting project aimed at inspiring local residents to discover and rediscover science. It is important for the future of the borough’s economy that more of our young people look to a career in science and technology and we will be encouraging them to get involved in the project."

Cllr Phil Davies, leader of Wirral Council and Liverpool City Region lead for economic development and culture, said:- "Eureka! is a vote of confidence in our City Region and an extraordinary opportunity to bring another world class attraction to the waterfront, adding a unique brand to the broad range of activities already on offer. This new attraction will act as a powerful catalyst for regeneration of Seacombe and the surrounding area, and I have no doubt that its novel approach to learning will inspire future generations across Liverpool City Region and the North West of England. The development of Eureka! Mersey will help support our efforts to encourage more young people to learn the skills they will need in the future, bring new businesses to the City Region and help grow our local economy."

Defibrillator database will save lives

THE announcement of a national defibrillator database by the NHS, the British Heart Foundation (BHF) and Microsoft has been welcomed by the Region’s Ambulance Service. The partnership aims to map the life saving devices so they can be made readily available for every out of Hospital cardiac arrest in the UK.

Defibrillators are small machines which can ‘shock’ a person’s heart into restarting after a cardiac arrest. If this can be done in the 1st few minutes, patients have a 60% to 70% chance of making a full recovery. They are easy to use, easy to carry and they won’t deliver a shock unless it is required. There is no clinical training required to be able to use the machine.

North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust (NWAS) already holds a list of defibrillators but estimates there are thousands that remain unknown and hidden in businesses, hotel chains, factories, shopping centres and smaller organisations such as:- Social and Sports Clubs and Schools.

The BHF states that public access defibrillators are used in less than 3% of out of Hospital cardiac arrests, significantly reducing the survival chances of tens of thousands of people every year. There are over 30,000 out of Hospital cardiac arrests every year in the UK, but less than 1 in 10 people survive. In countries where the public are better equipped to recognise and deal with cardiac arrests, survival rates are up to 3 times higher.

Learn how to save a life in under 3 minutes with the 'Agent Lifesaver' video on YouTube.

Community Engagement Manager at NWAS, Andrew Redgrave said:- "The use of CPR and public defibrillators can mean the difference between life and death for a patient in cardiac arrest. Defibrillators allow everyday members of the public to become lifesavers by providing the all important shock before our ambulance crews arrive. Even just 2 or 3 minutes earlier can make a huge difference. We know that many people raise funds in their local area to have defibrillators installed but they often forget to tell us they’ve done so. This means that we could get a call for a suspected cardiac arrest where this potentially life-saving piece of kit is available and we can’t tell the caller to go and get it. The more defibrillators we know about, the more lives will be saved. It’s that simple."

The national defibrillator database will launch in spring 2019, but defibrillator guardians in Cheshire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Cumbria can register their lifesaving devices with North West Ambulance Service now at:- NWAS.NHS.UK.