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The Oliver King Foundation - determined to save as many young lives as possible, by ensuring that no other family has to suffer a similar loss to that of Oliver King.

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We began in January 2012 following the sudden and tragic death of young Oliver from Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome, a hidden heart condition which kills 12 young people every week.

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Oliver attended King David High School in Liverpool when he suffered a cardiac arrest whilst winning a swimming race. It is estimated that 270 children die every year from this hidden condition whilst at school.

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Our first high profile campaign was the highly successful Government e-petition which received over 110,000 signatures and led to a debate in the Houses of Parliament. This led to building a relationship with Public Health Minister Anna Soubry MP who visited Liverpool to launch our community public access defibrillator project. We later met with the Secretary of State for Health Jeremy Hunt MP who endorsed our work.

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Our biggest achievement to date with Government has been with the Department for Education - after our meeting with Schools Minister Lord Nash, the Government issued guidance to all schools in England and Wales recommending they have access to a lifesaving defibrillator. Naming us as a stakeholder in that document.

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To date we have placed over 800 defibrillators in schools and organisations right across the UK, ranging from the Outer Hebrides to as far down as Portsmouth. Training 15,000 people in emergency frist aid and awareness of defibrillators along the way. We are aware of at least 9 lives being saved by the lifesaving defibrillators we have placed.

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We believe all of this is a fantastic legacy for 12-year-old Oliver King and his family.

 

We have some very ambitious plans to be working towards over the next 12 months, so do keep an eye out on this website, our social media, and the news section to hear about what this includes - and see if you can get involved. All with the absolute determination to save as many lives as possible from sudden cardiac arrest. 

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Mark King and the Foundation have also won awards for this work, including one from Prime Minister David Cameron MP.

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