On Monday 1 June 2026, Beechen Cliff School in Bath celebrated the
launch of its new public access defibrillator, the first one installed
in Bath by the Sam Polledri Foundation [2] in partnership with Great
Western Air Ambulance Charity (GWAAC). The School was joined by the
Deputy Mayor of Bath and representatives from the Sam Polledri
Foundation and GWAAC. Attendees took part in a CPR and defibrillator
training session, run by GWAAC’s Defibrillator Officer Caroline
Kivungi, so they know how to help someone in an emergency.
Mr Tim Markall, Headmaster of Beechen Cliff School, said: “We (Beechen
Cliff School) are honoured to receive this defibrillator, funded by the
Sam Polledri Foundation. We hope we will never need to use it, but it is
a great comfort to know it’s here and will increase chances of survival
for our students and local community in the event of a cardiac arrest.”
Bystander CPR and defibrillation in the first few minutes of a cardiac
arrest can give someone their best chance of survival before GWAAC’s
Critical Care Team arrive. For every minute that passes, that chance
goes down by 10%, but right now, only 40% of people receive early CPR
and fewer than 2% have a defibrillator used prior to the ambulance
arriving.
Louise Polledri, mum of 24-year-old Sam Polledri who sadly passed away
from a cardiac arrest in 2022, says: “Sadly for Sam, although he was
surrounded by defibrillators where he collapsed none of them were
accessible to the general public. We have over 84 public defibs up now
in Sam’s honour. Hopefully, many families will be spared our
devastation.”
Almost one in five of GWAAC’s call-outs to B&NES were for cardiac
arrests in 2025
In 2025, GWAAC’s crew rushed to help 121 people in need of urgent
medical care in Bath and North East Somerset in 2025. Cardiac arrests
were the joint most frequent type of incident that the crew responded to
along with road traffic collisions, making up 18% each (36% combined) of
GWAAC’s total missions to Bath and North East Somerset.
GWAAC, through its Great Western Hearts programme, has helped place 220
public access defibrillators (including those in partnership with the
Sam Polledri Foundation) in the communities it serves. Although the
charity has had presence in the City with its shop on Moorland Road
since April 2024, yesterday marked an important milestone, launching
their first defibrillator in Bath. GWAAC is looking to place many more
in B&NES and is calling for individuals, groups and businesses to get in
touch if they do not have a defibrillator within a three-minute return
trip.
If you would like to fundraise or purchase a defibrillator for your
community, please get in touch with the GWAAC team by emailing
hearts@gwaac.com or visiting gwaac.com/aed
Image,from L to R: Peter Polledri, Sam Polledri Foundation / Derek Taylor,
Facilities Site Manager at Beechen Cliff School / Tim Markall,
Headteacher at Beechen Cliff School / Ian Halsall, Deputy Mayor of Bath
/ Louise Polledri, Sam Polledri Foundation / Caroline Kivungi,
Defibrillator Officer at Great Western Air Ambulance Charity / Andrew
Seal, Deputy Headteacher at Beechen Cliff School.