LUXURY vinyl flooring specialist Karndean Designflooring is putting lives first at its state of the art showroom and head office in Evesham by installing its very own lifesaving defibrillator on site.

As well as investing in its dedicated defibrillator, Karndean has provided "imperative" basic life support and awareness training for its staff to be on hand to help save the lives of people who suffer potentially fatal cardiac arrests. The move follows a significant increase in the number of people visiting Karndean’s popular showroom in Crab Apple Way. It is also set to benefit local businesses and retailers based around Vale Park, which will have access to the equipment.

Paul Staite, the company's environmental, health and safety manage, said: "With the showroom team welcoming more than 1,000 visitors in October alone, it’s never been a more crucial time for us to invest in lifesaving equipment to help keep our staff and visitors safe. Health and safety is of paramount importance to us as a responsible and growing business, and we ensure we take all measures to put lives first. Our showroom is open to the public seven days a week, and with more and more visitors on-site, the risk of a visitor having a cardiac arrest on site increases.

“If the worst was to happen, we’re safer in the knowledge a trained member of the team will be able to respond and provide early CPR and defibrillation.”

According to the British Heart Foundation, around 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur each year in the UK and every minute without CPR and defibrillation reduces the chances of survival by up to 10 per cent.