The difference between life and death - Watch as every police vehicle in Tyne & Wear now set to carry a defibrillator thanks to the Red Sky Foundation

The money was raised by the Sunderland based charity thanks to its annual fundraising ball, and today (June 26) founder Sergio Petrucci met up with the police officers who will be using the lifesaving equipment should it be needed.

One of those officers is PC Alex Kirbey who said: “This really is an amazing opportunity to make a difference. We often arrive at incidents before the ambulance service, where CPR and emergency first aid is required.

“We are often waiting for an ambulance to arrive and so to have the opportunity to have these defibrillators onboard is amazing.

“Every second counts and so this gives us that vital time and chance to save lives and to keep people safe.”

Recalling a recent situation, PC Kirbey added: “We had an incident last week where a male in his own home had suffered a suspected cardiac arrest. On that occasion we did arrive at the same time as the ambulance service, however had that not been the case, that would have been one of the perfect situations to have the defibrillators with us.”

Chief Superintendent and Sunderland area commander Mark Hall added: “We have been bowled over by the support from Sergio and the Red Sky Foundation.

“This is massive for the Force. It will enable our response teams to deployed to emergency situations to have lifesaving equipment immediately available in the back of their police vehicle.

“Previously we have needed to access community defibrillators, which can take vital minutes. This will enable those officers to have the kit immediately available - which will make a huge difference.”

One person who knows more than most the difference having access to a defibrillator can make is SAFC fan Philip Wright who collapsed in the 3 Stories pub in Sunderland after suffering a cardiac arrest following the Stoke City FA Cup game in January.

Philip, 72, said: “I had just ordered a round of drinks when I had my cardiac arrest. People have since told me that I went out like someone switching a light bulb off.

“The luck factor really came into play as there were four nurses next to where I fell and they started to administer CPR. The barmaid had also just qualified as a paramedic and also came to assist.

“The police arrived and cleared the bar before the paramedics arrived who were able to administer a defibrillator which brought me back.

“If the police had their own defibrillators then I could have been brought around much sooner. If it hadn’t been match day with all the emergency services close by, the end result may have been different.”

The Red Sky Foundation raise money to support babies, children and adults living with complex heart conditions.

The foundation was created by Sunderland couple – Sergio and Emma Petrucci MBE and was initially a one-off event thanking the team at Newcastle’s Freeman Hospital who carried out life-saving open heart surgery on their daughter, Luna.

That initial event was so successful that Sergio and Emma launched the Foundation, which to date has raised more than £2.5million, of which a substantial amount has been spent on installing defibrillators in public places.

Sergio said: “Typically in a medical emergency the police are the first on the scene and while they wait for an ambulance the only thing they can do is hands-on CPR. By giving them these defibrillators it’s going to massively change survival rates.

“The amount of defibrillators across Northumbria Police is going to give far more people a chance of survival.”

With every response car in Northumbria Police now in possession of a defibrillator Sergio hopes to use data on survival rates to support the Jamie’s Law campaign to see the initiative rolled out nationally.

Jamie Rees, who lived in Rugby in Warwickshire, was just 18 when he collapsed with a cardiac arrest on New Years Eve 2021. The police officers who arrived on the scene did not have access to a defibrillator and by the time paramedics arrived, it was too late for Jamie to recover and he passed away due to oxygen starvation.

Following Jamie’s tragic passing, his mother Naomi Rees-Issitt set-up the OurJay Foundation to raise money to supply community defibrillators. The charity is also campaigning for ‘Jamie’s Law’, to see all police response cars nationally equipped with defibrillators.

Naomi, who was present at the handover of the 154 defibrillators to Northumbria Police, said: “The police arrived after 12 minutes and we have since been told by doctors that if a defibrillator had been applied to Jamie at that time then he would probably still be standing here today.

“The minutes saved with having a defibrillator in the back of a police car, rather than having to collect one, really could be the difference between life and death.”

Sergio added: “We are hoping to be able to use statistics from increased survival rates in the North East to demonstrate the difference these defibrillators have made which will help to support the campaign for Jamie’s law.”