BHF Cymru encourages DVLA staff to vote and keep families together for longer

BHF Cymru, the British Heart Foundation in Wales, is urging DVLA staff to take part in a vote for the BHF to become the DVLA’s Charity of Choice, giving families more time with the people they love.

The campaign is supported by Karen Williams, who ran the London Marathon in memory of her late husband Ted, who died suddenly on their farm from an undiagnosed heart condition. Karen said: “When someone has a cardiac arrest their heart stops beating. Every second counts, and it’s amazing that the BHF is in the running to be the DVLA’s Charity of Choice. The BHF will help train DVLA staff in the lifesaving skills of CPR though their RevivR app, giving everyone the confidence to step in, should the worst happen, and potentially become a lifesaver.”

Andrew Barnett survived a cardiac arrest while playing 5-a-side football with his son, when he was aged 45. Andrew’s life was saved thanks to the quick thinking of bystanders who used CPR and a public access defibrillator.

Andrew said: “I was really lucky. I was in the right place at the right time, with people who knew how to perform CPR and a defibrillator nearby, but it can be a bit of a lottery at the moment. A partnership with the BHF and the DVLA would mean more people trained in this vital skill that saved my life, as well as raising crucial funds and awareness of heart and circulatory diseases.”

BHF Area Fundraising manager for Wales and Northern Ireland Nikki James said: “Everyone has a heart precious to someone else, a devoted mum or dad, a beloved grandparent, an irreplaceable friend. When just one heart stops, countless more are left devastated by the loss.

“By choosing the British Heart Foundation as the DVLA’s Charity of Choice, staff in Wales can help power scientific breakthroughs that will keep families together for longer.”

Head of BHF Cymru, Rhodri Thomas said: “We are the biggest independent funder of heart and circulatory disease research in Wales. Thanks to our amazing supporters, we currently fund £3.3m in 8 lifesaving research projects*, we’ve part-funded 1,500 lifesaving defibrillators, and over 250 schools have been part of our Nation of Lifesavers programme since it launched in 2014.” Around 340,000 people are living with heart and circulatory diseases in Wales. Many thousands more have high blood pressure and diabetes, which are known risk factors for heart and circulatory diseases, which cause around 26 deaths each day in Wales.

“With the support of DVLA staff we hope to deliver our vision of a world free from the fear of these diseases, a world where we have more time with the people we love. By voting for the BHF, DVLA staff are powering science that will save lives.”

*live funding in 2022