March gets 31st life-saving defib thanks to former mayor Rob Skoulding

Defibrillators can save lives, as former March mayor Rob Skoulding knows first-hand.

In 2021 Rob suffered a heart attack and his life was saved thanks to his quick-thinking wife, Laura, and a defibrillator.

This was in stark contrast to his earlier experience, when in 2009 his father Peter Skoulding suffered a heart attack and tragically died – there were no defibrillators available at that time.

However, the loss of his dad inspired Rob to launch a major fundraising campaign in his mayoral year in 2015 to ensure his hometown was well-supplied with the life-saving devices.

His ‘Have a Heart’ Campaign sought to emulate Whittlesey’s ‘Defibs for All’ charity, set up a year earlier, and ensure March was a safer place to live.

Rob donated all the money he earned as a Fenland District Councillor to the cause and urged local charitable organisations to back his campaign.

His aim was to make sure there were enough defibs installed around March that people had access to one within four minutes of wherever they were in the town. It’s a shocking statistic, but people can die of a heart attack within six minutes.

At the time of the launch in 2015 Whittlesey had 23 defibs and Rob was determined March would at least equal that number.

At the weekend Rob was joined by local MP Steve Barclay, Jo Pope, and Emma Cole, who both organised March’s EstaFest in the summer, where Rob ran his famous wheel-barrow drink stall to raise more money for defibrillators, together with local electrician Darren Biggs to witness the installation of the town’s 31st defib.

It was installed by Darren, who has put up many of the defibs around town all free of charge, at Coles Sandwich Bar on Station Road.